Stockwinners Market Radar for April 29, 2020 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:42 EDT Tyson Foods temporarily pausing production at Dakota City beef plant - Tyson Fresh Meats, the beef and pork subsidiary of Tyson Foods, is currently winding down production and will temporarily pause operations Friday, May 1 through Monday, May 4 at its Dakota City, Neb., beef facility to complete a deep cleaning of the entire plant. The company has been working closely with the local health department and is also in the process of screening plant team members for COVID-19 this week, with assistance from the Nebraska National Guard. The facility, one of the largest beef processing plant in the country, employs a workforce of 4,300 and normally produces enough beef in one day to feed 18 million people, however with increased absenteeism over the last few weeks the company has scaled back production. While the plant is temporarily idled, and in collaboration with UFCW Local 222, team members will continue to be compensated and asked to continue following CDC guidance such as social distancing, persistent hand washing and wearing of facial coverings to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

19:37 EDT Abiomed acquires Breethe, developer of ECMO system - Abiomed has acquired Breethe, developer of a novel extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMOc system that will complement and expand Abiomed's product portfolio to more comprehensively serve the needs of patients whose lungs can no longer provide sufficient oxygenation, including patients suffering from cardiogenic shock or respiratory failure such as due to ARDS, H1N1, SARS, or COVID-19. ECMO has also been utilized as a primary method of oxygenation and hemodynamic support for pediatric patients. The Breethe system has an integrated oxygen concentrator removing the need for bulky, heavy tanks and multiple wires enabling easier patient mobility.

18:49 EDT Arlo Technologies names Gordon Mattingly CFO - Arlo Technologies announced that Christine Gorjanc, Chief Financial Officer, principal financial officer and principal accounting officer of Arlo, will retire from her role, effective June 15, 2020. Gordon Mattingly, Arlo's Senior Vice President, Finance since July 2018, will take over Gorjanc's roles, effective as of Gorjanc's retirement. Mattingly previously served in various senior leadership roles in Finance and Operations at Netgear over the past decade and was an instrumental part of the separation and launch of Arlo. Gorjanc has agreed to remain in the CFO role until June 15 to ensure a smooth transition. "During my time here, I have been impressed with the strategic and technical expertise that Christine brings to her job and the dedication she has for Arlo's mission. It is equally clear that she has built strong teams across the organizations she leads," said Matthew McRae, Chief Executive Officer. "I am extremely excited to work closely with Gordon who has been involved in every aspect of Arlo's financial engagements since our IPO and will be an excellent leader as we drive for profitability."

18:43 EDT Chico's names Molly Langenstein as CEO - Chico's FAS announced the promotion of Molly Langenstein to CEO and President of Chico's FAS, effective June 24, 2020. Since August 2019, Ms. Langenstein has served as President of the Company's two largest brands, Chico's and White House Black Market.

18:39 EDT Tesla CEO says Model Y was profitable in first quarter of production - Says this was surprising and the first for any model launched. Says true range of Model S has been 400mi in past 2 months. Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call.

18:07 EDT Microsoft to 'aggressively expand' cloud infrastructure in FY21

18:03 EDT Microsoft sees Q4 Productivity and Business Processes revenue $11.65B-$11.95B - Sees Q4 More Personal Computing revenue $11.3B-$11.7B; Q4 Intelligent Cloud revenue $12.9B-$13.15B. Guidance taken from Q3 earnings conference call.

17:48 EDT Argo Group sees Q1 pre-tax net catastrophe losses $29M - Argo Group announced that its results for the first quarter of 2020 will be adversely affected by certain loss items primarily related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and volatility in global financial markets, summarized in more detail below. Argo expects to report pre-tax net catastrophe losses of $29 million, including approximately $26 million related to the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily resulting from contingency and property exposures in the company's International Operations and property exposures in its U.S. Operations. Property losses relate to sub-limited affirmative business interruption coverage, primarily in certain International markets, as well as expected costs associated with potential litigation. Charges related to the COVID-19 pandemic represent estimated losses incurred through March 31, 2020. Argo expects to incur some additional losses and claim related expenses in subsequent quarters depending on the timing and duration of impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, net prior year reserve development was not material in the first quarter of 2020. Investment results in the quarter were adversely impacted by extreme volatility in interest rates, credit spreads and equity markets. As a result, Argo expects to report pre-tax net realized and unrealized investment losses of $162 million, partially offset by net investment income of $35 million for the first quarter of 2020.

17:45 EDT SPDR Gold Shares holdings rise to 1,056.50MT from 1,048.31MT - This is the highest level of holdings since May of 2013.

17:26 EDT Facebook sees strong advertising growth from gaming sector - Says ad sales from travel, cars down significantly.

17:20 EDT Endeavour Silver anticipates reopening mines around May 18 - Endeavour Silver Corp. announced that the Mexican government has decreed an extension of the suspension of all non-essential activities until May 30. However, the suspension of activities will cease to be applicable as of May 18 in municipalities that present low or no known cases or transmission of the SARS-CoV2 virus, subject to criteria to be defined by the Secretariat of Health. Mining was previously deemed by the Mexican health authority to be a non-essential activity, leading Endeavour to suspend its three mining operations on April 1. However, the company's three mines are located in municipalities with low or no transmission of the SARS-CoV2 virus. Therefore, Endeavour now anticipates reopening its mines around May 18, pursuant to the government decree. The company has also filed applications for exemptions to reopen earlier if feasible and permitted.

17:18 EDT Facebook CEO says he has that accepted profit margins will decrease this year - Says well-positioned to be champions for small business interests. Says has accepted that profit margins will decrease this year with continued investment. Says continued pullack has reinforced importance of maintaining high margins.

17:14 EDT Facebook says group video usage up over 1,000% in March - Says doesn't see exact spike in usage to be sustained over time. Says seeing long-term acceleration in wider trends, such as increased overall use of private social platforms. Says group video useage up over 1,000% in March. Says live video is still very important right now. Says more than 800M daily actives are engaging in live streams.

17:08 EDT Energy Transfer LP up 5.5% after Blackstone disclosed 6.9% stake

17:07 EDT Facebook CEO says reopening too quickly could guarantee future outbreaks - Says concerned that reopening places too quickly will almost guarantee future outbreaks and even worse health and economic outcomes. Says aiming to connect users with authoritative health information on the COVID-19 pandemic. Says wants to make sure COVID-19 information center provides information from sources people trust. Says doesn't allow content on platform that puts people at imminent risk of physical harm. Says also focused on helping government and authorities gather key data. Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call.

16:58 EDT Align Technology says holding headcount level steady - Says the company has no debt. Says expects to ramp up quickly in recovery. Says added three to six months of inventory to weather the storm when COVID-19 hit China. Says maintained 80% capacity before volumes fell off. Says operations are designed to load balance. Says there is about a three to four week lag between case receipts/orders to case shipments. Says slowing some capital expenditure projects. Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call.

16:48 EDT Align Technology says 2M teen patients have used Invisalign system - Align Technology announced that 2 million teen patients have now started treatment with the Invisalign system - the most advanced clear aligner system and leading digital approach to orthodontic treatment. The 2 millionth teen patient is one of more than 8 million Invisalign patients of all ages worldwide, reflecting continued preference and adoption for Invisalign treatment by doctors and their patients of all ages. Align reached its first millionth Invisalign teen patient in 2017, 10 years after initially targeting teens, and achieved its 2nd millionth Invisalign milestone only 3 years later, which reflects accelerating adoption globally.

16:46 EDT PDS Biotechnology announces expansion of CRADA with NCI - PDS Biotechnology announced an expansion of its previously announced Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, or CRADA, with the National Cancer Institute, or NCI, to include studies of PDS0103, a Versamune-based product incorporating novel mucin-1, or MUC1, epitopes developed by the NCI. This expansion adds to the NCI's ongoing evaluation of PDS0101 in combination with two separate immune-modulating agents, NHS-IL12 and M7824, which will be evaluated in a phase 2 clinical trial in advanced HPV-associated cancers. Under the expanded CRADA, PDS Biotech will collaborate with the NCI Center for Cancer Research's Genitourinary Malignancies Branch, or GMB, and the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology to conduct preclinical studies of PDS0103, and potentially human clinical studies in combination with other therapeutic agents. PDS0103 combines Versamune with novel highly immunogenic agonist epitopes of the mucin-1, or MUC1, oncogenic C-terminal region, designed and developed by the LTIB. PDS0103 is targeting ovarian, breast, colorectal and lung cancers where over-expression of MUC1 is associated with a high degree of unmet need.

16:43 EDT GlaxoSmithKline announces FDA approval of sNDA for Zejula - GlaxoSmithKline announced the U.S. FDA approved the company's supplemental New Drug Application for Zejula, an oral, once-daily poly polymerase inhibitor, as a monotherapy maintenance treatment for women with advanced epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who are in a complete or partial response to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy, regardless of biomarker status. Until now, only 20% of women with ovarian cancer, those with a BRCA mutation, were eligible to be treated with a PARP inhibitor as monotherapy in the first-line maintenance setting.

16:41 EDT Scientific Games says Missouri Lottery extends contract for one year - Scientific Games announced that the Missouri Lottery extended its existing contract for one additional year. The company will continue serving as the Lottery's primary instant game provider through June 30, 2021.

16:40 EDT Tetra Tech raises quarterly dividend to 17c from 15c per share - The dividend is payable on May 29, 2020 to stockholders of record as of May 13, 2020.

16:38 EDT eBay continues to explore opportunities for Classifieds business - eBay continues to explore potential value-creating alternatives for its Classifieds business, is holding active discussions with multiple parties, and anticipates having an update by the middle of the year.

16:37 EDT Antero Resources lowers 2020 CapEx to $750M from $1.15B - Antero Resources CEO Paul Rady commented, "Our reduced 2020 drilling and completion capital budget highlights the continued momentum in our capital cost savings initiative that was launched in early 2019. The new $750M budget is 41% lower than our 2019 capital spend, with no change to our growth target of 9% for 2020. The lower capital spending plan is partly driven by lower well costs of $715 per lateral foot, a 26% decrease from our first quarter 2019 well costs. Further, due to the near term liquids pricing environment, we have deferred 20 well completions into 2021. This reduced capital budget is expected to result in positive Free Cash Flow of $175M for 2020 assuming current commodity strip prices. Based on the current commodity price environment, we anticipate a maintenance capital spend level in 2021 of $600 million to hold 3.5 Bcfe/d production flat. This low maintenance capital level, combined with the substantial natural gas and liquids production base, enables Antero to succeed under various pricing environments."

16:32 EDT Antero Midstream lowers 2020 Adjusted EBITDA view 7% to $800M-$830M - Had seen 2020 Adjusted EBITDA of $850M-$900M. Further decreased capital budget to a range of $215M- $240; from the original budget of $300M-$325M and previously revised budget of $250M-$275M, representing a 65% decrease compared to 2019 capital expenditures. Increases free cash flow guidance by 9% from $375M-$425M to $420M-$450M, driven by capital budget reductions.

16:28 EDT Qualcomm sees Q3 handset shipments down ~30% vs. prior view - The company said, "Given the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the timing and pace of economic recovery, our guidance for the third quarter of fiscal 2020 is based on a planning assumption that there will be an approximate 30% reduction in handset shipments relative to our prior expectations, resulting in an estimated impact of greater than ($0.30) to EPS in the third quarter of fiscal 2020. However, the actual impact may differ materially due to the challenging economic environment and highly uncertain effects of COVID-19."

16:26 EDT Matador sees 2020 total oil production up 9% vs. prior outlook up 16% - Sees 2020 total natural gas production up 5% vs. prior up 12%. Sees total oil equivalent production down 30% vs. prior up 7%. The company said, "A series of unprecedented events impacting the oil and natural gas industry has occurred since the beginning of 2020, including the worldwide destruction of demand for crude oil resulting from the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, and, on March 6, 2020, from the actions of Saudi Arabia, other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia. In response, on March 11, 2020, Matador announced its plans to reduce its operated drilling program from six to three rigs by the end of the second quarter of 2020. Matador released the first of these operated rigs in late March, and the second operated rig was released in late April. At April 29, 2020, Matador is operating four drilling rigs in the Delaware Basin. Matador intends to release one of those operated rigs by the end of the second quarter of 2020...These updated guidance estimates include Matador's plans to shut in or curtail portions of its Delaware Basin and Eagle Ford production in May 2020 and likely again in June 2020, as described later in this release. Further, these updated guidance estimates assume Matador operates four drilling rigs in the Delaware Basin for the remainder of the second quarter of 2020 and operates three drilling rigs in the Delaware Basin throughout the second half of 2020."

16:25 EDT Qualcomm reports Q2 MSM chip shipments 129M, down 17% y/y

16:25 EDT QEP Resources decreases FY20 CapEx projections - Capital expenditures of approximately $385.0 million a 32% decrease compared with original 2020

16:24 EDT Service Corp. sees 'significant' positive operating cash flow during 2020 - Eric Tanzberger, the company's CFO, commented on the strength of the company's financial position: "I think it is important to reiterate that we are well-positioned financially to weather this storm. Our financial position is strong with very robust liquidity. We continue to expect a significant amount of positive operating cash flow during 2020. Additionally, we have no meaningful debt maturities until May 2024. Out of an abundance of caution, we have implemented appropriate financial measures, which should allow us to safe-guard the employment of our associates. In order to fund these employment safe-guards, we have deferred certain cash expenditures for corporate and field maintenance, cemetery development, and growth capital expenditures, and we believe we have the flexibility to adjust further. We are proud that we have had no lay-offs or mandatory furloughs so far as a result of this pandemic. Lastly, we have taken measures to reduce expenses in certain areas of our business and believe there is room for further reduction, if needed. Looking ahead we are confident in the strength of our liquidity and cash flow position that will allow us to return to growth quickly after this crisis passes." Due to the uncertainty of current economic conditions, in early April, we withdrew our full year 2020 guidance. We will continue to closely assess this situation, and will provide further updates when the effects of the pandemic are more predictable. As we look forward in 2020, we anticipate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on both our funeral and cemetery segments will result in a decline of our adjusted earnings per share, which we hope to minimize as we continue to be vigilant with our costs and expenses. We believe that adjusted operating cash flow will be less impacted than adjusted earnings per share as we expect to continue to collect cash from preneed installment sales, defer taxes as allowed by federal and state laws, and temporarily reduce expenses and capital expenditures.

16:23 EDT Marker Therapeutics' Acute Myeloid Leukemia candidate designated Orphan Drug - Marker Therapeutics' MT-401, a multi-tumor-associated antigen-specific T cell product for the treatment of patients with acute myeloid leukemia has been granted Orphan Drug designation by the FDA's Office of Orphan Products Development.

16:18 EDT Aflac withdraws earnings guidance for 2020 - The company said: "We ended the first quarter and entered this crisis with strong earnings, a strong, well-diversified portfolio, strong capital ratios and ample holding company liquidity further strengthened by recent debt offerings. However, sales production in both Japan and the U.S. did begin to fall off in March, and the decline accelerated in the month of April, impacted by a reduction in face-to-face activity. While our respective sales platforms and distribution partners are working to adapt to the new environment, we believe these trends point to depressed sales at least until we see COVID-19 restrictions subside. Recognizing challenges to production and the potential for volatility in core earnings drivers associated with the evolving nature of the global COVID-19 pandemic, it is challenging to forecast with reasonable accuracy the full duration, magnitude, and pace of recovery across our distribution and operations. Therefore, we believe it is prudent to withdraw adjusted earnings guidance for 2020. However, we will continue to provide color on the drivers of our earnings and any trends that we see for the remainder of the year."

16:17 EDT eBay reports Q1 GMV $21.3B, down 1% on as-reported basis - Remaining flat on a FX-Neutral basis.

16:16 EDT ServiceNow sees FY20 subscription revenue $4.13B-$4.15B

16:16 EDT eBay reports Q1 active buyers up 2% to 174M - Active buyers grew by 2%, for a total of 174 million global active buyers.

16:16 EDT TTM Technologies to restructure Electro-Mechanical Business Unit - TTM Technologies,announced the restructuring of its Electro-Mechanical Business Unit. The E-MS Business Unit consists of three Chinese manufacturing facilities with two being in Shanghai (SH BPA and SH E-MS) and one in Shenzhen . TTM will discontinue operations at the SH E-MS and SZ facilities while integrating the SH BPA facility into its PCB operations. The E-MS Business Unit has been focused on commercial assembly solutions while the rest of TTM is focused on higher margin PCB's and RF components. The SH BPA plant provides backplane assemblies for the networking/communications end market and will be retained to further strengthen TTM's position in the 5G infrastructure market. The SZ facility has been focused on PCB assembly and systems integration for the automotive market, and the SH E-MS facility manufactures large enclosures and equipment systems for the networking/communications and industrial markets. The restructuring is another step in advancing TTM's stated strategy of increasing its focus on differentiated higher margin products that more fully leverage TTM's early engagement capabilities and industry leading engineering based technology solutions. "Our strategic intent to exit this business was reinforced by a confluence of recent events including an expropriation notice from a Chinese municipality, US/China trade tensions, and impact from COVID-19." said Tom Edman, CEO of TTM. "We believe that following this restructuring, TTM will be a financially stronger company with an even greater focus on serving the needs of all stakeholders - customers, suppliers, investors and employees."

16:14 EDT Allison Transmission awarded $162M contract - The U.S. Army selected Allison Transmission to provide the X1100-3B1 propulsion solution for the M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank. The contract, valued at approximately $162M, includes transmission production, upgrades, sustainment kits and service support. Deliveries began in March 2020 and will continue through December 2021.

16:12 EDT Facebook shares jump 7% to $208.12 following Q1 results

16:12 EDT Microsoft reports Q3 Productivity and Business Processes revenue $11.7B - Revenue in Productivity and Business Processes was $11.7B and increased 15%, or up 16% in constant currency. Office Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 13%, or up 15% in constant currency, driven by Office 365 Commercial revenue growth of 25%, or up 27% in constant currency. Office Consumer products and cloud services revenue increased 15%, or up 17% in constant currency, with continued growth in Office 365 Consumer subscribers to 39.6M. LinkedIn revenue increased 21%, or up 22% in constant currency.

16:11 EDT Facebook sees 2020 capex investments of $14B-$16B - Facebook said, "Our significant investments in infrastructure over the past four years have served us well during this period of high user engagement. We plan to continue to grow our capex investments to enhance and expand our global infrastructure footprint over the long term. In 2020, we expect capital expenditures to be approximately $14-16 billion, down from the prior range of $17-19 billion. This reduction reflects a significant decrease in our construction efforts globally related to shelter-in-place orders. Given the strong engagement growth and related demands on our infrastructure, this year's capex reduction should be viewed as a deferral into 2021 rather than savings."

16:10 EDT RealNetworks reports COVID-19 impact mitigation measures - RealNetworks announced steps to address the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact, especially Real's Computer Vision platform and business, known as SAFR. Real is pivoting SAFR to focus on the intersection of public health and public safety. The company expects to be rolling out new SAFR-based products beginning in mid-2020 that will address newly identified needs of the market for public safety. Real has frozen employee salaries and modified its 2020 executive bonus program, and CEO Rob Glaser declined to accept a 2019 bonus that would have been payable in 2020. Real has received $2.87M in funding pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program. The $2.87M loan,eligible for forgiveness under the Program, has an interest rate of 1% per annum, a six-month deferment period, and matures on the two-year anniversary of disbursement. RealNetworks intends to use the proceeds from the PPP loan exclusively to cover payroll costs, as well as lease payments and utilities, in accordance with program guidelines. Real reaffirms that its Q1 financial results met or exceeded guidance.

16:10 EDT Microsoft reports Q3 More Personal Computing revenue $11.0B - Revenue in More Personal Computing was $11.0B and increased 3%, up 4% in constant currency. Windows OEM revenue was relatively unchanged year over year. Windows Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 17%, up 18% in constant currency. Search advertising revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs increased 1%. Xbox content and services revenue increased 2%. Surface revenue increased 1%, or up 2% in constant currency.

16:09 EDT Microsoft reports Q3 Intelligent Cloud revenue $12.3B - Revenue in Intelligent Cloud was $12.3B and increased 27%, up 29% in constant currency. Server products and cloud services revenue increased 30%, up 32% in constant currency, driven by Azure revenue growth of 59%, up 61% in constant currency. Enterprise Services revenue increased 6%, up 7% in constant currency.

16:08 EDT Facebook reports Q1 capital expenditures of $3.66B, headcount up 28% - Cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities were $60.29B as of March 31, 2020. Headcount was 48,268 as of March 31, an increase of 28% year-over-year.

16:08 EDT Hologic to introduce second high-throughput molecular assay for coronavirus - Hologic announced that it plans to launch a new Aptima molecular assay to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus that will run on its Panther system. Combining significant manufacturing capacity for the new test with the world's largest installed base of high-throughput molecular instruments is expected to dramatically increase testing capabilities for the novel coronavirus. Next week, Hologic expects to begin distributing a Research Use Only version of its Aptima SARS-CoV-2 test to hospital, public health and reference laboratories certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments to perform high complexity tests. These labs may use the assay for clinical testing on Hologic's Panther system after completing performance verification testing. Also next week, Hologic plans to apply for Emergency Use Authorization for the Aptima SARS-CoV-2 assay from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Hologic plans to register a CE Mark for diagnostic use in Europe later in May. Hologic expects to provide its laboratory customers approximately 3 million RUO tests initially. Starting in late May, the Company expects to begin producing at least one million Aptima SARS-CoV-2 assays per week on average. Hologic is also planning to increase its production capacity further in the coming months. Hologic expects to provide its laboratory customers approximately 3 million RUO tests initially. Starting in late May, the Company expects to begin producing at least one million Aptima SARS-CoV-2 assays per week on average. Hologic is also planning to increase its production capacity further in the coming months.

16:06 EDT Microsoft says COVID-19 had 'minimal net impact on' Q3 revenue - In the third quarter of fiscal year 2020, COVID-19 had minimal net impact on the total company revenue, Microsoft said. In the Productivity and Business Processes and Intelligent Cloud segments, cloud usage increased, particularly in Microsoft 365 including Teams, Azure, Windows Virtual Desktop, advanced security solutions, and Power Platform, as customers shifted to work and learn from home. In the final weeks of the quarter, there was a slowdown in transactional licensing, particularly in small and medium businesses, and a reduction in advertising spend in LinkedIn. In the More Personal Computing segment, Windows OEM and Surface benefited from increased demand to support remote work and learn scenarios, offset in part by supply chain constraints in China that improved late in the quarter. Gaming benefited from increased engagement following stay-at-home guidelines. Search was negatively impacted by reductions in advertising spend, particularly in the industries most impacted by COVID-19. "The effects of COVID-19 may not be fully reflected in the financial results until future periods," the company stated.

16:05 EDT Qualcomm sees Q3 MSM chip shipments 125M-145M

15:47 EDT Winmark lowers quarterly dividend to 5c from 25c per share - Winmark announced that its board of directors has approved the payment of a quarterly cash dividend to shareholders. The quarterly dividend of 5c per share will be paid June 1 to shareholders of record on the close of business on May 13. On January 29, Winmark had approved the payment of a quarterly cash dividend of 25c per share to be paid March 2 to shareholders of record on the close of business on February 12.

15:23 EDT Amazon unit Twitch gets esports directory - Video live streaming service operated by Twitch Interactive, a subsidiary of Amazon said in an earlier blog posting that it was introducing an esports Directory. "From League of Legends to NBA 2K, viewers show up in record numbers to watch the world's premier live esports competitions. We've been listening to our vibrant community of competitive gaming fans, and today we're excited to announce a new way to find esports content with the launch of the Esports Directory! This new directory, which is rolling out over the coming days, puts all of the esports content on Twitch in one central place. Tune in to watch live events, catch up on past matches, discover new esports channels, and learn from the best pro players. The experience is tailored to make it easier for you to find the games and events you're most interested in and help discover content you might like, but didn't even know about. We're looking at you, Farming Simulator League," said Twitch earlier. Reference Link

14:30 EDT Tyson Foods doubles 'thank you bonuses' for frontline workers to $120M - Tyson Foods said that as part of its efforts to support frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is doubling bonuses, increasing short-term disability coverage and is also implementing additional health screening measures. The company is now offering $120M in "thank you bonuses" for 116,000 U.S. frontline workers and truckers, up from the $60M announced in early April. The company is moving up the first $500 bonus payment to early May. The second $500 bonus will be paid in July. Team members who cannot come to work due to illness or childcare will continue to qualify, but bonus eligibility will depend on attendance, Tyson added. The company is increasing short-term disability coverage to 90% of normal pay until June 30, for team members who are unable to work due to illness. In addition, the company, which has been checking worker temperatures, will now also take the following measures: Screen workers for additional symptoms, such as coughing and shortness of breath; Have designated monitors at each facility to help enforce social distancing; Require the use of company-provided surgical-style face coverings.

13:54 EDT FDA grants marketing of Medtronic continuous dialysis therapy device - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted marketing authorization for a new device indicated to provide continuous hemodialysis or hemofiltration therapy to critically ill pediatric patients weighing between 2.5 and 10 kilograms, or 5.5 to 22 pounds). Continuous hemodialysis or hemofiltration therapy - known as continuous renal replacement therapy - involves using a dialysis machine and a special filter, or dialyzer, to continuously clean a patient's blood for an extended period of time, without stopping, instead of the more traditional three times a week therapy session. CRRT is typically performed in intensive care unit settings. The CARPEDIEM System is the first CRRT device intended for a lower weight-specific pediatric patient population who have a sudden or temporary loss of kidney function or have too much water in their bodies because their kidneys are not functioning properly, the FDA said. The FDA granted marketing authorization of the CARPEDIEM System to Medtronic.

13:31 EDT NIH says COVID-19 patients on remdesivir had 31% faster recovery time - The National Institutes of Health announced that hospitalized patients with advanced COVID-19 and lung involvement who received remdesivir recovered faster than similar patients who received placebo, according to a preliminary data analysis from a randomized, controlled trial involving 1063 patients, which began on February 21. The trial, sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, is the first clinical trial launched in the United States to evaluate an experimental treatment for COVID-19. An independent data and safety monitoring board overseeing the trial met on April 27 to review data and shared their interim analysis with the study team. Based upon their review of the data, they noted that remdesivir was better than placebo from the perspective of the primary endpoint, time to recovery, a metric often used in influenza trials. Recovery in this study was defined as being well enough for hospital discharge or returning to normal activity level. Preliminary results indicate that patients who received remdesivir had a 31% faster time to recovery than those who received placebo. Specifically, the median time to recovery was 11 days for patients treated with remdesivir compared with 15 days for those who received placebo. Results also suggested a survival benefit, with a mortality rate of 8.0% for the group receiving remdesivir versus 11.6% for the placebo group, the NIH announced. Reference Link

12:07 EDT Psychemedics says test for cotinine detection cleared by FDA - Psychemedics has introduced what it calls "the first FDA-cleared hair test for cotinine," the predominant metabolite for nicotine. This test provides a way for schools and businesses to detect the ingestion of nicotine by all methods including smoking or the use of electronic cigarettes, said the company. "Many of our school clients have asked us for this test as they see it as a key tool to help them deter their students from the increasing threat posed by vaping. Our new 510(K) approved nicotine assay allows us to offer a nicotine test at an affordable price beneficial to schools," stated Raymond Kubacki, Chairman and CEO of Psychemedics.

12:01 EDT Nordic American Tankers falls -15.8% - Nordic American Tankers is down -15.8%, or -$1.16 to $6.18.

12:00 EDT Blue Apron falls -21.1% - Blue Apron is down -21.1%, or -$2.65 to $9.90.

12:00 EDT Sonic Automotive rises 27.3% - Sonic Automotive is up 27.3%, or $5.12 to $23.85.

11:58 EDT Lyft cuts 17% of staff to reduce costs amid COVID-19 pandemic - Lyft announced a plan of termination as part of its efforts to reduce operating expenses and adjust cash flows in light of the ongoing economic challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the company's business. The plan of termination involves the termination of approximately 982 employees, representing 17% of the company's employees. In connection with the plan of termination, Lyft estimates that it will incur approximately $28M to $36M of restructuring and related charges primarily related to employee severance and benefits costs, the majority of which the company expects to incur Q2. As part of its cost reductions, the company has furloughed approximately 288 employees and has implemented reductions in base salary for exempt employees for a twelve week period beginning in May, consisting of a 30% reduction for executive leadership, 20% for vice presidents and 10% for all other exempt employees. Members of the company's board of directors have voluntarily agreed to forego 30% of their cash compensation for the second quarter of 2020.

11:26 EDT Lancet lifts embargo on previously discussed Gilead China trial in severe COVID - The Lancet has now lifted an embargo and made publicly available the results of the trial conducted in China of Gilead's remdesivir in adults with severe COVID-19. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at ten hospitals in Hubei, China enrolled adult patients admitted to hospitals with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, with an interval from symptom onset to enrolment of 12 days or less, oxygen saturation of 94% or less on room air or a ratio of arterial oxygen partial pressure to fractional inspired oxygen of 300 mm Hg or less, and radiologically confirmed pneumonia. The "Interpretation" section of the Lancet review of the study states: "In this study of adult patients admitted to hospital for severe COVID-19, remdesivir was not associated with statistically significant clinical benefits. However, the numerical reduction in time to clinical improvement in those treated earlier requires confirmation in larger studies." The Fly notes that on April 23, the Financial Times and STAT News reported that Gilead's remdesivir disappointed in its first randomized clinical trial, citing draft documents published accidentally by the World Health Organization. A Gilead spokesperson previously said at that time that a draft document showing results from the Chinese trial of its remdesivir drug for the coronavirus contained "inappropriate characterizations" and that the study's findings were "inconclusive." Reference Link

11:10 EDT Boeing deferring some tax via Cares Act provisions

10:51 EDT Boeing sees multiyear COVID recovery for commercial services division

10:46 EDT Boeing sees first delivery of 777-9 in 2021

10:40 EDT ITC announces 337 investigation of certain Nintendo portable gaming consoles - The U.S. International Trade Commission has voted to institute an investigation of certain portable gaming console systems with attachable handheld controllers and components thereof II. The investigation is based on a complaint filed by Gamevice on March 27, 2020. The complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the United States and sale of certain portable gaming console systems with attachable handheld controllers and components thereof II that infringe a patent asserted by the complainant. The complainant requests that the USITC issue a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders. The USITC has identified the following as respondents in this investigation Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan and Nintendo of America, Inc., of Redmond, WA. Reference Link

10:39 EDT Boeing working to resize, reshape business, CEO Calhoun says - Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call.

10:17 EDT Culp says no General Electric business immune from COVID-19 - General Electric CEO Larry Culp is speaking on CNBC.

10:15 EDT Hallmark Financial up 18% to $4.28 after report of sales process

10:00 EDT Nordic American Tankers falls -11.8% - Nordic American Tankers is down -11.8%, or -86c to $6.47.

10:00 EDT Liberty Oilfield Services rises 25.1% - Liberty Oilfield Services is up 25.1%, or 90c to $4.49.

10:00 EDT Brinker rises 26.5% - Brinker is up 26.5%, or $5.08 to $24.22.

09:47 EDT MasterCard says declines in cross-border spending leveling off

09:43 EDT Starbucks CEO says limited seating options will be done in targeted way - Kevin Johnson is speaking on CNBC.

09:37 EDT Intuitive Surgical providing financial relief to customers amid pandemic - Intuitive on Tuesday provided an update on its efforts to support customers, communities, and its employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. "The COVID-19 pandemic presents unprecedented challenges to global health care systems, care teams, and communities," said Intuitive CEO Gary Guthart. "Intuitive is focused on the health and safety of our customers, our communities and our employees, through policies and initiatives designed to help." Intuitive and the Intuitive Foundation are working to assemble, donate, and distribute personal protective equipment to hospitals and healthcare facilities. To date, more than 100,000 pieces of PPE have been sourced or built, and then donated for distribution throughout the U.S. The company's goal is to manufacture and donate 1 million more face shields globally. The Intuitive Foundation is also connecting employees with opportunities to volunteer in their communities. Intuitive has taken numerous measures to minimize the spread of COVID-19 while continuing to provide essential services and support to customers. Intuitive implemented a work-from-home policy for the majority of employees globally. For employees who cannot work from home, Intuitive has implemented additional health and safety measures, including maximizing working space, changing shift schedules, and instituting mandatory screening and temperature checks. Intuitive has implemented an expanded paid and sick leave program to support employees who are unable to work due to family care responsibilities, underlying health issues, connectivity issues, or other unique circumstances. The company is also providing premium pay for essential team members who continue to supply customers with the products needed to care for patients. In addition, there are Employee Assistance Programs that have been developed or expanded to provide services and resources specific to the needs of employees at this time. Intuitive recognizes the economic toll that COVID-19 has taken on hospitals and healthcare systems, and is introducing a series of programs to provide financial relief to customers. Intuitive expects that the estimated value of this financial support will range between $90M and $130M, and will not exceed $205M.

09:35 EDT MasterCard says 'deals in the pipeline, examining actively'

09:28 EDT Nutanix, Wipro partner to launch digital database services - Nutanix (NTNX) and Wipro (WIT) announced the launch of Wipro's digital database services, or DDS, powered by Nutanix Era and Nutanix HCI software. This offering will enable enterprises to manage databases. Wipro's DDS, built on Nutanix solutions for databases including Nutanix HCI software and Nutanix Era, allows enterprises and users to provision and manage databases without prior knowledge of hardware, database software and associated configurations. The result is accelerated application release time, allowing database administrators to focus on new innovation instead. The DDS offering from Wipro, powered by Nutanix, enables customers to consolidate their database workloads onto a shared infrastructure to manage database sprawl.

09:26 EDT Usana partners with Dynamic Blending to manufacture hand sanitizer - Usana has teamed with Utah-based manufacturer, Dynamic Blending, to produce more than 28,000 eight-ounce bottles of hand sanitizer. Bottles will be donated to local Salt Lake and Summit County hospitals and police and fire departments, as well as local UPS and FedEx distribution centers. A special donation will also be made to the Navajo Nation.

09:23 EDT MasterCard expects China approval process to play out over a year

09:18 EDT Capricor: Data reports 100% survival in COVID-19 patients treated with CAP-1002 - Capricor Therapeutics announced new data reporting 100 percent survival in critical COVID-19 patients who were treated with Capricor's lead asset, off-the-shelf cardiac cell therapy CAP-1002, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center as part of six compassionate care cases. Over the course of one month, six critically ill COVID-19 patients, all suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome and five of whom were on mechanical ventilatory support, were safely treated with CAP-1002. Of the six patients treated, four of them have been discharged. Following a review of the available data, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Company's expanded access protocol to treat up to 20 additional COVID-19 patients. There is also a randomized, placebo-controlled trial planned to treat patients with moderate and severe disease which is intended to be funded by non-equity capital. In the compassionate care cases, five male patients and one female patient suffering from COVID-19 received IV infusions of 150 million allogeneic cardiosphere-derived cells. Of the five patients on ventilator support, four patients no longer required ventilator support within just one to four days following the infusion. The fifth patient remains on mechanical ventilation and the sixth patient is receiving supplemental oxygen and is currently clinically stable. Additionally, laboratory biomarkers correlated with poor outcomes were measured in all patients. Following infusion, several patients showed improvements in biomarkers, such as ferritin, absolute lymphocyte counts and CRP. No adverse events related to the administration of CAP-1002 were observed. This data has been submitted for publication. CAP-1002 demonstrates immunomodulatory properties. Multiple published peer-reviewed studies of CDCs have demonstrated favorable modulation of various inflammatory cytokines and regulation of the immune response. The current understanding of COVID-19's later stages are thought to be due to overstimulation of the immune system, which triggers a cytokine storm in which the body is overwhelmed with pro-inflammatory molecules. This immune response may become excessive and pathologic, inducing pneumonia, organ failure and death. Therefore, it can be the body's overreaction to COVID-19, rather than the virus itself, that delivers the fatal blow. Capricor is also in late-stage clinical development of CAP-1002 for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. In DMD, the lack of dystrophin produces abnormal inflammatory responses, which are responsible for much of the damage to skeletal and cardiac muscle. The Company has previously announced that top-line results of HOPE-2, a randomized, placebo-controlled study, will be released by mid-May 2020.

09:16 EDT SmileDirectClub files patent infrigement complaint against Candid - SmileDirectClub announced it has filed a complaint for patent infringement against Candid Care Co. for the operation of its Candid Studios, a copycat model of SmileDirectClub's own SmileShop model. SmileDirectClub was issued a patent for its SmileShop and related workflow intellectual property from the United States Patent & Trademark Office. The patent, U.S. Patent No. 10,636,522, further strengthens the telehealth dentistry pioneer's efforts to bring affordable, accessible oral care to more people through its unique and innovative teledentistry platform and direct-to-consumer business model. The patent ensures no clear aligner competitor will be able to duplicate SmileDirectClub's unique model for the next 18 years. In the complaint, SmileDirectClub details Candid's replication of SmileDirectClub's teledentistry platform, including the launch of Candid's retail component, called "Candid Studios," launched two years after the introduction of SmileShops. Candid has wrongfully taken advantage of the extensive analysis, financial investment, experience and effort that SmileDirectClub invested in developing its groundbreaking teledentistry platform and SmileShops. SmileDirectClub is seeking damages and injunctive relief to prohibit this copycat model from continuing. The patent encompasses the unique SmileShop concept and process, including scheduling of an appointment at a SmileShop, sending the scheduling confirmation to the customer, conducting the intraoral scan, generating a treatment plan, receiving approval of the treatment plan by a licensed dentist or orthodontist, producing aligners in accordance with the treatment plan, and sending those aligners to the customer. SmileDirectClub's clear aligner therapy platform has helped more than 1,000,000 customers achieve a straighter and brighter smile.

09:15 EDT Amazon, NFL expand streaming partnership - The National Football League, or NFL, and Amazon (AMZN) announced they have reached a multi-year agreement to renew their exclusive partnership to deliver a live digital stream of Thursday Night Football Presented by Bud Light Platinum to a global audience across hundreds of compatible devices. Amazon Prime Video and Twitch will stream the 11 Thursday Night Football games broadcast by FOX (FOX, FOXA), which will be available to more than 150 million paid Prime members worldwide, and in over 200 countries and territories on the Prime Video and Twitch sites and apps across connected living room devices, mobile phones, tablets and PCs. All Thursday Night Football games broadcast by FOX will also be distributed in Spanish on FOX Deportes and are expected to be simulcast on NFL Network, continuing the league's "Tri-Cast" model of broadcast, cable, and digital distribution. Additionally, the NFL and Amazon announced an agreement to exclusively stream one regular season game globally on Prime Video and Twitch, which will be played on a Saturday in the second half of the 2020 NFL regular season. In keeping with the NFL's long-standing commitment to make its games available on free, over-the-air television, the game will also be televised in the participating teams' home markets. Thursday Night Football on Prime Video and Twitch will continue to provide members a unique viewing experience with interactive features like X-Ray and Next Gen Stats powered by AWS that bring fans closer to the game. On Prime Video, members can choose to watch the FOX broadcast, the FOX Deportes Spanish language coverage, and from multiple alternative audio options exclusive to Prime Video. The NFL and Amazon will continue to collaborate on additional NFL content and enhanced fan viewing experiences around Thursday Night Football.

09:14 EDT Boeing 'confident' in ungrounding of MAX occurring in Q3, CEO says - Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun is speaking on CNBC.

09:13 EDT Michaels, UPS launch contactless pickups and drop-offs - Michaels (MIK) and UPS (UPS) announced curbside service at UPS Access Point locations located within more than 800 Michaels stores nationwide. Without ever entering the store, this new service provides consumers a safe option to ship UPS packages directly to a Michaels store, as well as drop off pre-labeled shipments and make returns to any e-commerce retailer that accepts UPS returns shipments. Upon arrival at the location, a Michaels team member will interact with the customer to facilitate a contactless process. The service is available wherever Michaels offers its Curbside service during current store hours.

09:11 EDT Boeing CEO says public markets 'in better shape' following Cares Act - Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun is speaking on CNBC.

09:09 EDT Winnebago to continue to evaluate liquidity across several scenarios - Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, Winnebago Industries has implemented significant cost containment and financial management measures and will continue to do so as conditions require. For any employees that remain furloughed due to either employee safety or demand factors, the Company will maintain their medical and dental insurance benefits during any unpaid leave. Winnebago Industries is operating from a strong liquidity and financial position, with $123 million of cash on hand as of the end of February which has continued to materially increase during March and April. The Company also has access to a $193 million ABL credit facility, and considering its solid cash position, at this time has elected to forego drawing on this facility. The company will continue to evaluate its liquidity across several economic and RV industry scenarios and will work with its strategic banking partners to consider the appropriate alternatives to pursue in the capital markets for each of these scenarios. Under its current credit facility, Winnebago Industries has no significant debt maturities until November of 2023, and as of its most recent quarter-end the company had a net secured leverage ratio of 0.6, well within the term loan covenant which requires a leverage ratio under 3.25.

09:08 EDT Winnebago to resume operations as scheduled in May - Winnebago Industries provided the following business update on actions the Company is taking in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As previously announced, Winnebago Industries resumed production at certain of its locations, beginning the week of April 13th. In addition, the Company is also confirming planned manufacturing resumption activities for the remainder of its portfolio during the month of May: Newmar - week of May 4th; Grand Design RV - week of May 4th; Winnebago Motorhomes - week of May 4th; Winnebago Towables - week of May 11th. Each business will be restarting operations in a graduated manner aligned with a confirmed base of existing orders. Future production rates and plans will vary by brand and are subject to change, as the Company will continue to evaluate the demand conditions present in its end markets and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and state and federal governments. As the Company resumes operations in select areas, all employees are required to adhere to applicable safety protocols whether working physically on-campus or offsite including but not limited to appropriate social distancing measures, strict sanitization practices, the use of personal protection equipment, and daily employee health checks.

09:08 EDT LendingTree invests $8M in Stash - LendingTree has made an $8M strategic investment in Stash, a banking and investing service in the U.S. The investment from LendingTree is part of Stash's Series F funding, which includes funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. as well as Breyer Capital, Goodwater Capital, Greenspring Associates, Union Square Ventures, and other investors. Launched in 2015, Stash offers all-in-one subscriptions that offer personal investment accounts, Traditional and Roth IRAs, custodial investment accounts, banking services, checking accounts and debit cards.

09:06 EDT Gevo's wind towers to begin commercial operations May 1 - Gevo announced that the two wind turbines that will supply up to 5.0 MW of fully renewable electricity to Gevo's production facility located in Luverne, MN are being placed into service and will begin delivering energy. The electricity generated from wind is wired directly to the Luverne Facility, which is expected to enable the Luverne Facility to utilize the emissions-free energy to produce fuel in the future with a lower carbon intensity score under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard in California.

09:06 EDT iRhythm supports cardiac patients during the COVID-19 crisis - iRhythm Technologies announced its virtual platform to support patients and clinicians in the wake of COVID-19 by offering home enrollment for the company's Zio XT and Zio AT heart monitoring devices. Since patients with heart conditions are a particularly vulnerable population for COVID-19 and should avoid unnecessary visits to a doctor's office, they can receive and apply the device from the comfort of their homes. In addition, during this public health emergency, physicians treating COVID-19 patients can now use Zio AT mobile cardiac telemetry to monitor their heart rhythms in both inpatient and outpatient settings, freeing up hospital beds and additional resources. iRhythm is providing Zio AT mobile cardiac telemetry solutions to monitor the near real-time heart health of severely ill COVID-19 patients, providing a multi-campus solution for Montefiore Health System and enhancing cardiac monitoring for these patients. This initiative, developed by experts at Montefiore, is rolling out in a new inpatient program at three hospitals within Montefiore. The devices, which can be placed in about five minutes per patient, have no loose wires or batteries and require no maintenance, allowing healthcare workers to safely monitor a patient's heart rhythm while also limiting their exposure to the virus. Because this technology provides remote readings, Montefiore can care for patients on various units across all three of their campuses from one centralized location, conserving resources while also providing high-level care to their patients. Upon discharge, the patient can continue wearing this device and be observed by a Montefiore cardiologist, providing additional monitoring in the crucial days immediately following discharge.

09:05 EDT Boeing CEO says customers don't want to take deliveries right now - Dave Calhoun is speaking on CNBC.

09:04 EDT Boeing CEO says airline passenger traffic down 95% versus last year - Dave Calhoun is speaking on CNBC.

09:04 EDT Perspecta and Oasys JV wins prime position on $13.4B Air Force IT program - Perspecta subsidiary Knight Point Systems' Invictus JV joint venture was awarded a prime position on the Small Business Enterprise Applications Solutions program from the U.S. Air Force Materiel Command. The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, multiple-award program has a total value of $13.4B, which includes a five-year base plus five one-year options. Invictus JV, a joint venture comprised of Knight Point Systems and Oasys International, is a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business that launched in June 2017. The organization provides systems engineering and integration services, cloud computing, cybersecurity, infrastructure/data center services, program management and service desk support to customers across defense, intelligence and federal agencies. Invictus JV, will compete for task orders to provide systems engineering, system architecture and design, cloud migration and advisory services, cybersecurity and risk management and agile software development services.

09:03 EDT Gilead up 9% after study of remdesivir for COVID-19 meets primary endpoint - In pre-market, after the stock was allowed to resume trading following the news, Gilead shares are up $6.83, or 8.7%, to $85.50.

09:00 EDT Gilead trading resumes

08:52 EDT Blue Apron reports no material impact on results from COVID-19 - Beginning late in Q1, Blue Apron has experienced a significant increase in demand for its meal kits primarily as a result of changes to consumer behavior following the implementation of stay-at-home and restaurant restriction orders throughout much of the United States in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to meet the increased demand, the company is taking action to increase capacity at its fulfillment centers, including hiring new employees and temporarily reducing variety in menu options, which limits the need to change production lines and allows for more time to pack meal kits. At the same time, the company has taken a variety of safety measures following federal, state, and local guidelines at its fulfillment centers. These safety measures include enhanced daily cleaning and disinfection policies, enhanced personal sanitation efforts and implementing social distancing throughout the fulfillment centers. To date, while the company has held production at times in order to implement some of its enhanced safety measures, Blue Apron has not experienced significant disruptions in its operations of its fulfillment centers, and has not experienced any significant disruptions in its supply chain or any carrier interruptions or delays. The COVID-19 pandemic did not have a material impact on the company's consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31. The company's leadership is monitoring the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business and the global economy, including impacts on consumer behavior relating to cooking at home, and the company believes there will be an ongoing positive impact on demand for its meals, although the duration and extent of this demand increase is unknown.

08:45 EDT California Water Service asks to delay rate changes - California Water Service Group announced that its California subsidiary, California Water Service, has requested that the California Public Utilities Commission delay upcoming rate changes due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, and has committed to deferring other bill increases during 2020. In a motion filed Tuesday, April 28, 2020 in its 2018 General Rate Case, Cal Water recognized the impact the current crisis may be having on its customers. While requesting that the CPUC move forward with a final decision in the case so Cal Water can complete its Infrastructure Improvement Plan and appropriately plan for its next General Rate Case, Cal Water proposed that any rate changes be postponed to January 1, 2021. The CPUC has authorized Cal Water to record the difference between existing rates and final rates from January 1, 2020 through the time final rates are implemented in a memorandum account for future recovery. Previously, Cal Water worked with the CPUC staff to modify the timing of its annual surcharge adjustment filings to eliminate rate increases these filings could have generated during this public health emergency. California Water Service Group also was among the first to announce it would suspend collections activities in all its subsidiaries, an action subsequently adopted by state regulators for all utilities.

08:42 EDT General Electric sees narrowbody demand picking up fastest upon recovery

08:41 EDT DarioHealth partners with MediOribis for full telemedicine integration - DarioHealth announced a new partnership with telemedicine provider MediOrbis to expand Dario's existing service offering with a full suite of telemedicine capabilities for its 50,000 active users. With Dario's most recent app, users may now access a complement of physician-directed, patient care from home and other remote locations.

08:40 EDT Tivity Health partners with DispatchHealth to provide nutrition support - Tivity Health announced a new partnership with DispatchHealth, a provider of technology-enabled in-home health care, to deliver healthy, convenient meals for DispatchHealth patients. The new service will initially be offered in the Denver metro area for patients returning home after a hospitalization, those that are hospitalized in their home or for the most vulnerable patients with food insecurity. DispatchHealth clinicians will perform in-person assessments of each patient's nutritional support needs. In coordination with DispatchHealth, Tivity Health will deliver customized Wisely Well meals directly to the patient's home within two business days, for up to five days of meals per shipment.

08:36 EDT CGI Inc awarded $267M cybersecurity contract - CGI announced that it has been awarded a six-year, $267M task order to provide cybersecurity consulting services under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation Program for CDM's Dynamic and Evolving Federal Enterprise Network Defense Group F Federal agencies. The contract was awarded via the U.S. General Services Administration's Alliant 2 government-wide acquisition contract through an acquisition conducted by GSA FEDSIM. CGI will provide DHS's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency with a shared services platform to deliver CDM cybersecurity capabilities to over 75 non-Chief Financial Officer Act agencies. Additionally, CGI will provide a shared services catalog of capabilities and services that meet CDM program goals. The SSC will grow and evolve with the threat and technology landscape and will allow CGI to develop innovative solutions that prioritize cloud native and hosted service solutions.

08:35 EDT Gilead says NIAID study of remdesivir as COVID-19 treatment met primary endpoint - Gilead Sciences is aware of positive data emerging from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases', or NIAID, study of the investigational antiviral remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19. We understand that the trial has met its primary endpoint and that NIAID will provide detailed information at an upcoming briefing. Remdesivir is not yet licensed or approved anywhere globally and has not yet been demonstrated to be safe or effective for the treatment of COVID-19. Gilead will share additional remdesivir data from the company's open-label Phase 3 SIMPLE trial in patients with severe COVID-19 disease shortly. This study will provide information on whether a shorter, 5-day duration of therapy may have similar efficacy and safety as the 10-day treatment course evaluated in the NIAID trial and other ongoing trials. Gilead expects data at the end of May from the second SIMPLE study evaluating the 5- and 10-day dosing durations of remdesivir in patients with moderate COVID-19 disease. Gilead will continue to discuss with regulatory authorities the growing data set regarding remdesivir as a potential treatment for COVID-19.

08:34 EDT Fluent to accelerate international expansion amid increased advertiser demand - Fluent announced it has launched in two European markets with additional international launches planned throughout the remainder of 2020 and 2021. This strategic initiative stems from increased demand among Fluent's core performance advertiser base in reaching consumers across Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and APAC markets. Fluent has partnered with Globalization Partners to establish a ground presence in Western Europe and more rapidly develop key local relationships in operating regions. The company plans to make further investments in international talent in the back half of the year to support its expansion efforts and strengthen its global network.

08:34 EDT GE Aviation feeling impact of pandemic most severely

08:33 EDT ECMOHO collaborates with Gold HongYe Paper Group on digital strategy - ECMOHO entered into strategic collaboration with Gold HongYe Paper Group. Under the partnership, ECMOHO will develop a comprehensive digital strategy for Gold HongYe, introducing data intelligence platform to improve the efficiency of business operation and decision-making. Additionally, ECMOHO will help Gold HongYe deliver customized products to consumers through data-mining and analytics. By leveraging its capabilities in digitization, ECMOHO continues to provide its brand partners with integrated solutions to drive higher growth. The Company will continue to broaden its product categories and cooperation with high-quality brands for future growth.

08:31 EDT Revive Therapeutics provides update on psilocybin-based pharmaceutical program - Revive Therapeutics is pleased to provide further insight on its plans for its psilocybin-based pharmaceutical program. The Company will investigate novel oral dosage forms of psilocybin, such as oral dissolvable thin films or tablets, based on the Company's wholly-owned patent-pending psilocybin formulations and its exclusive licensed drug delivery technology from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. Through initial evaluations with the Company's research team, it has been found there are several unique parallels between the Company's intellectual property portfolio of psilocybin-based formulations and delivery mechanism and the drug delivery technology, which is comprised of tannin-chitosan composites that have been studied with cannabidiol in the past. Revive intends to research both delivery mechanisms in parallel as each provides its own unique qualities such as the potential of rapid onset of action and time-release compositions. The future of psilocybin as a medication will come in many forms. The Company believes that the most optimal delivery method to pursue and unlock the potential of psilocybin to treat a broad spectrum of diseases and disorders will be in the form of both an oral dissolvable tablet and an oral thin film strip, commonly recognized as a 'Breath Strip'. The Company is preparing its formulation development plans intending to pursue clinical studies for indications currently not being evaluated with psilocybin. We believe the combination of psilocybin and our tannin-chitosan delivery platform gives us a unique advantage. Revive's psilocybin-based formulations have been engineered to work synergistically with the body's own natural pathways of absorption while offering a contemporary approach to consumption. The Company has key provisional patent applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that cover methods of production of psilocybin-based formulations, including sublingual sprays, effervescent tablets, hard-shell capsules, sublingual and transmucosal delivery systems. Furthermore, Revive has a patent-pending portfolio that includes Psilocybin extraction and crystallization methodologies. The drug delivery technology aims to deliver both synthetic and natural extract of psilocybin in a potential number of ways such as topical gels, creams or ointments, oral or transdermal patches, oral dosages and foams. The delivery technology is a natural, non-toxic, biodegradable and biocompatible composite that combines a tannin material, which is derived from a plant group having antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant and wound healing properties, and a chitosan material, which is derived from the crustacean group having blood-clotting and antimicrobial properties. The delivery technology has a rapid onset of action and controlled or sustained release potential capabilities and may allow combining multiple extracts from mushrooms in one formulation.

08:29 EDT Kemet receives SAMR approval for pending acquisition by Yageo - KEMET Corporation announced that, in connection with the pending acquisition of KEMET by Yageo Corporation, the parties received a notice from the Anti-Monopoly Bureau of the State Administration for Market Regulation in China of its unconditional approval of the pending acquisition of KEMET by Yageo under the Anti-Monopoly Law of China. The remaining required regulatory approval to consummate the transaction is approval from the Investment Commission, Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taiwan. The parties' submission was recently filed, and reviews typically take up to approximately 90 days to complete.

08:26 EDT Corbus announces publication of lenabasum Phase 2 trial results - Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings announced the publication of results from the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial assessing the safety and efficacy of lenabasum in 42 patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis in Arthritis & Rheumatology. The paper is titled "Safety and efficacy of lenabasum in a Phase 2 randomized, placebo-controlled trial in adults with systemic sclerosis." As previously reported, data showed treatment with lenabasum was associated with improvements across the primary endpoint, the American College of Rheumatology Combined Response Index in diffuse cutaneous Systemic Sclerosis score and multiple secondary efficacy outcomes. The study results also demonstrated that lenabasum has an acceptable safety profile. Efficacy and safety of lenabasum in systemic sclerosis are currently being evaluated in Corbus' global, 365-subject, RESOLVE-1 Phase 3 study. Baseline characteristics of subjects are similar to those in the Phase 2 study. RESOLVE-1 has enrolled 365 individuals with SSc in an international, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. The primary efficacy endpoint is ACR CRISS score. The study is also evaluating multiple secondary endpoints, including changes in HAQ-DI, mRSS and FVC percent predicted. Topline data from the RESOLVE-1 study remain on track for summer 2020.

08:25 EDT Gilead trading halted, news pending

08:22 EDT XTO Energy extends tender offer to purchase all outstanding units in Hugoton - XTO Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Exxon Mobil, announced that it has extended the offering period of its previously announced tender offer to purchase all outstanding units of beneficial interest in Hugoton Royalty Trust at a price of 20c per Unit, net to the seller in cash, without interest and subject to any withholding of taxes. The tender offer is now scheduled to expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on Tuesday, May 12, unless the tender offer is further extended or earlier terminated in accordance with the terms set forth in the Tender Offer Statement. The tender offer was extended to allow additional time, in light of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, for unitholders to complete and return the transmittal documentation and to give instructions to their brokers.

08:19 EDT Enphase Energy, Sunlogics deliver residential solar solutions in Belgium - Enphase Energy announced it has teamed-up with Sunlogics, a full-service residential solar installer that delivers custom-made solar solutions to customers in Belgium. Sunlogics, with headquarters in Dilsen-Stokkem, Belgium has installed more than 30MW of residential solar, enough to power ten thousand families in Limburg, Antwerp and Brabant. The company has chosen Enphase as its exclusive microinverter supplier using Enphase IQ 7 and IQ 7+ microinverters for the SunPower P-Series modules. In addition, Sunlogics' residential solar systems are outfitted with Enphase Envoy communications gateways, which connect an Enphase-based solar system to the Enphase Enlighten monitoring platform and helps make per-panel energy monitoring and insights for operations and maintenance easy.

08:17 EDT BWX Technologies joint venture announces $243M contract extension - BWX Technologies announced that the U.S Department of Energy, or DOE, has extended CH2M Hill BWXT West Valley's cleanup contract at the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York State by an additional 39 months to June 2023. The purpose of the $243M extension is to enable CHBWV to safely and efficiently complete deactivation, demolition and removal of the main plant process building, which was the only commercially operated nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in the United States, as well as other facility disposition activities.

08:16 EDT Capstone Turbine receives $2.6M PPP SBA loan under CARES Act - Capstone Turbine announced that Capstone has applied for and received a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act. The $2.6M note was entered into with its banking partner Western Alliance Bank, an Arizona corporation on April 24. On March 24th Capstone Turbine enacted an emergency Business Continuity Plan, or BCP, designed to keep employees safe and continue to support its critical aftermarket Factory Protection Plan, or FPP, long-term service contracts and spare parts deliveries to its Essential Critical Infrastructure Customers, such as energy, health care, wastewater treatment, food processing services, pharmaceuticals, etc. Under the BCP, the Company furloughed, reduced hours, or reduced pay for approximately 70% of its direct workforce, leaving behind only staff deemed critical for day-to-day essential operations. In addition, Capstone Turbine's CEO and senior executive leadership voluntarily took a temporary 25% pay cut, and other managers, consisting of approximately 15% of the workforce, took a temporary 15% pay cut. "We appreciate the federal government's commitment in supporting small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program, along with Western Alliance Bank for their swift and efficient work to get us the appropriate funding during this unprecedented time," said Darren Jamison, President and CEO of Capstone Turbine. "During these times of uncertainty that the COVID-19 pandemic has created for nearly every business, having the additional liquidity provided by the PPP enhances our ability to continue manufacturing products and providing aftermarket services for our customers, which includes our global distribution network which is largely comprised of 62 small businesses, across 73 countries," added Mr. Jamison. "A key strategic goal of the company's Business Continuity Plan in response to COVID-19 was to maintain cash flow and liquidity, and having this $2.6M PPP loan in place from the SBA in combination with the furloughs, pay cuts, and the dramatic slowing of incoming raw material are essential to keep the Company liquid and allow us to maintain our support of Capstone's essential critical infrastructure end-use customers," said Eric Hencken, CFO and Chief Accounting Officer of Capstone Turbine.

08:15 EDT Honeywell to produce and donate hand sanitizer in U.S. and Germany - Honeywell is temporarily shifting manufacturing operations at two chemical manufacturing facilities to produce and donate hand sanitizer to government agencies in response to shortages created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company's sites in Muskegon, Michigan, and Seelze, Germany, will produce hand sanitizer over the next two months for government agencies, which will then distribute the product to institutions in need. In addition, Honeywell PMT is prioritizing resources in the following areas: providing industrial facilities around the world with advanced remote operations capabilities to support maintenance of critical operations; supporting scientists by prioritizing and ramping up production of analytical products; offering expedited support services to pharmaceutical and bio-pharmaceutical customers to help facilitate faster healthcare packaging decisions for COVID-19 oral solid medicine.

08:14 EDT Aptorum Group provides operational, clinical update amid COVID-19 outbreak - Aptorum Group's operational plans remain on track. In particular, the recently announced updates on SACT-1 and ALS-4 remain on track for its pre-IND preparation work. The company will continue to target IND submission in the second half of 2020, subject to regulatory review of the IND application. With the additional capital raised in February, the company is also on track to expand strategic initiatives including the discovery and development pipeline such as the recently announced initiative SACT-COV19 and additional Smart-Act platform projects being SACT-2 and SACT-3, which will be announced in due course. The company, together with the distributor, is also focused on the distribution of the recently announced non-hormonal based Dioscorea opposita bioactive nutraceutical supplement targeting woman's health during the menopausal or post-menopausal cycles. In light of the global coronavirus situation, the company would like to report that its day-to-day operations continue as normal. In March, Aptorum Group initiated an additional R&D program targeting the coronavirus group. The company has completed initial screening under our existing Smart-ACT platform, a repurposed and new drug discovery platform, to select at least three potential candidates for further preclinical investigation against the new coronavirus disease, COVID-19, out of a library of more than 2,600 small drug molecules that were previously approved for other indications. Announced further positive data from the current investigational new drug, or IND-enabling studies for ALS-4, a small drug molecule candidate for the treatment of infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Subject to positive completion of the current studies, Aptorum Group targets to submit IND for ALS-4 in the second half of 2020 and commence Phase 1 trials in North America. The company announced data and development in relation to its first repurposed drug candidate, SACT-1, for the treatment of neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer that develops in infants and young children. Subject to completion of current validation studies, Aptorum Group targets to leverage the US FDA 505 regulatory process pathway and make the IND submission for SACT-1 in the second half of 2020 and commence clinical trials in North America.

08:12 EDT General Electric sees Q2 results declining sequentially

08:11 EDT General Electric sees Healthcare rebounding before Aviation

08:10 EDT Northrop Grumman provides FY20 sector operating margin guidance - In FY20, sees the following operating margin rates: Aeronautics Systems ~10%; Defense Systems mid 10%; Mission Systems low to mid 14%; Space Systems low to mid 10%. Comments taken from investor presentation slides.

08:10 EDT AzurRx BioPharma receives approval to conduct Phase 2 OPTION 2 trial - AzurRx BioPharma announced that the Company received approval to conduct of its Phase 2 OPTION 2 clinical trial to investigate MS1819 in cystic fibrosis patients with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in Therapeutics Development Network clinical sites. The TDN is a collaborative network of CF clinical trial specialists supported by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. TDN support allows for access to 91 accredited U.S. care centers with established expertise in CF clinical research that facilitate recruitment and implementation of studies. The Phase 2 multi-center study is designed to investigate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of MS1819 using 2.2 and 4.4 gram doses in enteric capsules head-to-head against the current standard of care, porcine pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy pills. The study is expected to enroll 30 CF patients with target enrollment expected in Q4 2020 and study completion anticipated in Q1 2021.

08:09 EDT Catalent signs agreement with J&J to be manufacturing partner for COVID vaccine - Catalent (CTLT) announced a collaboration with the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), whereby Catalent's Biologics business unit will accelerate availability of manufacturing capacity and prepare for large-scale commercial manufacturing at its facility in Bloomington, Indiana of Johnson & Johnson's lead vaccine candidate for COVID-19. The collaboration commits joint investment to accelerate rapid scale-up of segregated manufacturing capacity over the coming months to support dedicated production of Johnson & Johnson's investigational vaccine candidate. Catalent plans to hire approximately 300 additional employees at the site for this program starting in July 2020 to meet operational readiness and 24x7 manufacturing schedules by January 2021.

08:08 EDT GE entered the year with momentum, but 'got hit hard' by COVID-19 - Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call.

08:06 EDT Enzo Biochem issued U.S. patent for methods of using SK1-I - Enzo Biochem announced the recent issuance of U.S. Patent No. 10,624,863 entitled Sphingosine Kinase Type 1 Inhibitors and Uses Thereof. The patent is directed to methods for inhibiting the enzyme Sphingosine kinase 1 in patients using the company's proprietary compound SK1-I and related Sphingosine kinase 1 inhibitors. In February, Enzo reported the publication of work by academic researchers demonstrating that drug candidate SK1-I decreased Interferon signature, pDC activation and glomerulonephritis, the inflammation of the filtration units of the kidney, in a chemically induced mouse model of lupus. In more detail, that work demonstrated that SK1-I reduced the levels of inflammatory cytokines including Interleukin-6, Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha, and Interferon-alpha and -beta in the animal model. Significantly, elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines, particularly IL-6, are reported to be associated with the development of respiratory failure in COVID-19 patients. Based on the results obtained in the lupus model and prior work demonstrating the anti-inflammatory activity of SK1-I in animal models of other immune disorders and on isolated human blood cells, the company is exploring avenues for the development of SK1-I as a potential treatment for COVID-19. Sphingosine kinase 1 is a key enzyme in the Sphingosine cell-signaling pathway that has been implicated in tumor cell growth and pathological inflammation. The enzyme acts by phosphorylating the cellular lipid Sphingosine to form Sphingosine 1-Phosphate, an important biological mediator of cell proliferation and immune function. SK1-I is a small molecule that specifically inhibits Sphingosine kinase 1. U.S. Patent No. 10,624,863 is the latest member of a family of issued U.S. patents, co-owned by Enzo and Virginia Commonwealth University and exclusively licensed by VCU to Enzo, that cover SK1-I and related compounds and their use in the treatment of various cancers and immune-inflammatory disorders. Foreign patent family members have also issued or been allowed.

08:05 EDT Ryder announces COVID-19 business impacts, outlook - Ryder enhanced its liquidity position in April by executing a $400M syndicated term loan, completing a $400M public bond offering and renewing its $300M receivable-backed financing facility. The company's solid liquidity position as of April 28 includes approximately $1B in cash in the U.S., $565M in available revolver borrowings, and $100M in availability under its receivable-backed financing facility. The company is well positioned to support operations, fund $600M of remaining 2020 debt maturities, and expects to continue paying its dividend. Considered an essential business during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ryder continues to provide crucial supply chain and transportation services to its customers in the vast majority of its locations. The pandemic and measures taken to prevent its spread, however, negatively affected Ryder's first quarter pre-tax earnings by an estimated $70M, primarily due to estimated impacts from additional accelerated depreciation of $27M and valuation adjustments of $21M resulting from lower expected used vehicle pricing. Additional COVID-19 impacts late in the quarter included decreased commercial rental demand and an increase in bad debt reserves, each of which impacted earnings by an estimated $8M. Additionally, there was a negative impact of $6M to earnings in supply chain due to the automotive industry shutdown. The company now expects lower used vehicle pricing in the second half of 2020 due to lower demand versus the prior expectation of a modest increase. As a result, the company increased accelerated depreciation on vehicles expected to be sold through mid-2021. In addition, the value of used vehicles in inventory at quarter end was written down to reflect lower expected pricing. Demand for commercial rental vehicles has decreased significantly due to a substantial reduction in business activity. Rental utilization percentage on power vehicles is estimated to be in the low-50s in April, compared to historical levels in the low-70s. Every percentage point change in utilization is estimated to impact monthly pre-tax earnings by approximately $1M until the rental fleet size can be aligned with market demand. SCS automotive volumes have declined significantly due to production shutdowns. Automotive customers generally expect to resume production throughout May; however, the timing and pace of the ramp up are subject to change. Continued full production shutdowns in North America would impact SCS earnings by approximately $15M-$20M per month including fixed costs required to maintain production readiness. ChoiceLease revenue has not been substantially impacted through April. However, Ryder has established additional bad debt reserves of $8M, primarily in FMS, due to slower COVID-19 related payment activity with certain customers. Assuming ongoing impacts from the pandemic, the company expects lower lease sales in 2020 which will result in significantly lower capital expenditures. Actions including the cancellation and deferral of lease and rental vehicle orders and the redeployment of rental equipment to fulfill lease contracts will further reduce capital spending. Capital expenditures are now expected to be between $1B-$1.4B for the full year, resulting in 2020 free cash flow above management's prior expectations and above the prior record of $600M. Ryder took significant actions in early April to reduce discretionary spending and overhead costs by a total of $20M in the second quarter, including employee furloughs.

08:03 EDT Norfolk Southern reports Q1 operating ratio 78.4%

07:58 EDT Unisys reports Q1 contracts with new and prior clients for $200M - Unisys announced a set of Q1 contracts with new and existing clients valued at $200M: Unisys signed a $140M contract with a major commercial defense contractor - a new client for Unisys - to provide comprehensive cross-functional IT services and Unisys Stealth security software. A global frozen-food company - also a new client for Unisys - signed a contract with Unisys for digital workplace services powered by InteliServe. Unisys expanded a contract with the California State University for CloudForte and Managed Security Services to support CSU's hybrid-cloud environment.

07:52 EDT Boeing up 5% to $137.90 following Q1 results

07:49 EDT Salarius Pharmaceuticals announces board of director nominations - Salarius Pharmaceuticals announced that its Board of Directors has unveiled nominations and updates to the Board in advance of the company's 2020 annual meeting of stockholders scheduled for June 19, 2020. These include the following: Jonathan Lieber, Managing Director, Danforth Advisors, to be nominated as a new, independent director of the Board; David Arthur, President and CEO of Salarius, and Bruce J. McCreedy, Ph.D., to be nominated for re-election to the Board; and William "Bill" McVicar, Ph.D., has been named as the new Chairman of the Board. Jonathan Northrup, a founder of Salarius Pharmaceuticals, LLC and who has served as chairman since the company's inception in 2011, will leave the Board at the end of his term in June 2020.

07:47 EDT Northrop Grumman: COVID-19 impacts to be offset by other cost reductions - Updated guidance reflects the following assumptions: Increased costs of COVID-19 related impacts to be offset by other cost reductions. Supply chain and labor impacts greatest in Q2 2020, expected to impact revenue and segment margin rate in the quarter. Operational pace recovers in 2H 2020. U.S. Government and primes continue timely payment. Marketable securities experience no further losses. Comments taken from investor presentation slides.

07:45 EDT Northrop Grumman sees FY20 CapEx ~$1.35B - Sees FY20 free cash flow $3.15B-$3.45B; Effective tax rate ~16.5%; Interest expense ~$590M; Operating margin rate 10.8%-11%; Segment operating margin rate 11.3%-11.5%. Guidance taken from investor presentation slides.

07:43 EDT Northrop Grumman provides FY20 sector revenue guidance - For FY20, the company expects the following: Aeronautics Systems revenue low $11B; Defense Systems revenue mid $7B; Mission Systems revenue high $9B; Space Systems revenue low $8B. Guidance taken from investor presentation slides.

07:40 EDT TG Therapeutics appoints Sagar Lonial to board of directors - TG Therapeutics announced the appointment of Sagar Lonial, MD, FACP, to the Company's Board of Directors. Dr. Lonial has extensive experience in multiple myeloma and lymphoma treatment and research, and most recently has focused on developing combinations of novel agents for B-cell malignancies, particularly evaluating combinations that may result in synergistic inhibition of the PI3K/Akt pathway. He currently serves as Professor and Chair of the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at the Emory University School of Medicine, as well as the Chief Medical Officer at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University.

07:37 EDT Houston Wire & Cable revises 2020 annual incentive plan - HWCC's Compensation Committee convened on March 26 to discuss the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the oil imbalance on the 2020 annual incentive plan or the company's senior management. The consensus, which the full board approved the following day, was that the original 2020 AIP performance goals had been overtaken by recent events and that the goals therefore should be replaced by two separate, new goals for "controlling the controllables": Halving HWCC's net debt from $79.3 million at year-end 2019 to under $40 million. Producing a positive normalized net income for 2020, even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and the oil imbalance. Further, while the board always retains discretion, its intention is that bonuses under the revised AIP will be earned only if a goal is fully realized in 2020. These new performance goals are intended to drive focused, immediate tactical actions by management to monetize working capital, to carefully prioritize capital investment, to surgically reduce cost throughout the entire company, to improve pricing and margins, and thereby halve net debt, which HWCC successfully achieved during the last industry downturn. Since resetting the AIP goals, HWCC's board has convened weekly to oversee progress toward meeting them.

07:36 EDT Houston Wire & Cable chair Bill Sheffield will not stand for re-election - Houston Wire & Cable Company provided an update on developments regarding its governance, executive goals and compensation, and cost and debt reduction measures. HWCC highlights recent and upcoming changes in board governance: As previously reported, the board elected the company's largest shareholder, David Nierenberg of the D3 Family Funds, as a director on March 16, 2020. Nierenberg and his partner, Damon Benedict, are helping the company navigate its response to the coronavirus pandemic and the global imbalance between the supply and demand for oil. Board Chair Bill Sheffield informed the board on April 28 that he would not stand for re-election in May, 2021. The board expects that Gary Yetman will succeed Sheffield as chairman, because of Yetman's extensive experience as CEO of an industrial and commercial cable manufacturer. To smooth this succession, Yetman is expected to succeed Sheffield as chairman of the board's Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee immediately after the 2020 annual meeting. Yetman is expected to stand down as Compensation Committee chairman immediately after the 2020 annual meeting, to be succeeded by Nierenberg. Nierenberg has served on public company boards since 1988 and currently serves on compensation committees for three other public companies, chairing one of them. Nierenberg has been deeply involved in board governance for 15 years through serving on the Washington State Investment Board, chairing the advisory board of the Ira Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership at Columbia Law School, and chairing the Research Advisory Council for proxy advisor Glass Lewis & Company.

07:34 EDT Boeing CEO: COVID-19 'affecting every aspect of our business' - "The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting every aspect of our business, including airline customer demand, production continuity and supply chain stability," said Boeing President and CEO David Calhoun. "Our primary focus is the health and safety of our people and communities while we take tough but necessary action to navigate this unprecedented health crisis and adapt for a changed marketplace. As the pandemic continues to reduce airline passenger traffic, Boeing sees significant impact on the demand for new commercial airplanes and services, with airlines delaying purchases for new jets, slowing delivery schedules and deferring elective maintenance. To align the business for the new market reality, Boeing is taking several actions that include reducing commercial airplane production rates. The company also announced a leadership and organizational restructuring to streamline roles and responsibilities, and plans to reduce overall staffing levels with a voluntary layoff program and additional workforce actions as necessary. Boeing has also taken action to manage near-term liquidity, as it has drawn on a term loan facility; reduced operating costs and discretionary spending; extended the existing pause on share repurchases and suspended dividends until further notice; reduced or deferred research and development and capital expenditures; and eliminated CEO and Chairman pay for the year. Access to additional liquidity will be critical for Boeing and the aerospace manufacturing sector to bridge to recovery, and the company is actively exploring all of the available options. Boeing believes it will be able to obtain sufficient liquidity to fund its operations." While COVID-19 is adding unprecedented pressure to our business, we remain confident in our long term future," said Calhoun. "We continue to support our defense customers in their critical national security missions. We are progressing toward the safe return to service of the 737 MAX, and we are driving safety, quality and operational excellence into all that we do every day. Air travel has always been resilient, our portfolio of products and technology is well positioned, and we are confident we will emerge from the crisis and thrive again as a leader of our industry."

07:32 EDT Boeing: 737 MAX aircraft production will resume at low rates in 2020 - Commercial Airplanes first-quarter revenue was $6.2 billion reflecting lower deliveries driven by the 737 MAX grounding as well as impacts of COVID-19. First-quarter operating margin decreased to (33.3) percent due to lower delivery volume, $797 million of abnormal production costs from the temporary suspension of 737 MAX production, a $336 million charge related to 737 Next Generation frame fitting component (pickle fork) repair costs, lower 787 margins primarily due to COVID-19, and $137 million of abnormal production costs from the temporary suspension of Puget Sound operations in response to COVID-19. COVID-19 has adversely impacted the 737 program due to a slower than previously planned production rate ramp-up driven by commercial airline industry uncertainty. To reflect COVID-19 impacts on the demand environment, 737 MAX aircraft production will resume at low rates in 2020 as timing and conditions of return to service are better understood and gradually increase to 31 per month during 2021, with further gradual increases to correspond with market demand. The estimated abnormal production costs from the temporary suspension of 737 MAX production have increased by approximately $1 billion due to updated production rate assumptions, bringing the estimated total to approximately $5 billion. There was no material change to estimated potential concessions and other considerations to customers related to the 737 MAX grounding. Commercial Airplanes has updated its production rate assumptions to reflect impacts from COVID-19 on its operations and demand outlook, and will continue to assess them on an ongoing basis. The 787 production rate will be reduced from 14 per month to 10 per month in 2020, and gradually reduced to 7 per month by 2022. The 777/777X combined production rate will be reduced to 3 per month in 2021. At this time, production rate assumptions have not changed on the 767 and 747 programs. Commercial Airplanes delivered 50 airplanes during the quarter, including 29 787s. Commercial Airplanes captured an order for 12 787 aircraft for All Nippon Airways, and produced the 1000th 787 at Boeing South Carolina. Commercial Airplanes backlog included over 5,000 airplanes valued at $352 billion.

07:30 EDT resTORbio trading resumes

07:25 EDT Celestica says global network operating at 80%-85% of normal workforce levels

07:20 EDT Chimerix initiates Phase 2/3 trial of DSTAT in acute lung injury - Chimerix announced the Company's initiation of a Phase 2/3 study of dociparstat sodium in COVID-19 patients with acute lung injury. DSTAT is a glycosaminoglycan derivative of heparin with robust anti-inflammatory properties, including the potential to address underlying causes of coagulation disorders with substantially reduced risk of bleeding complications compared to commercially available forms of heparin.

07:18 EDT Castle Biosciences announces DecisionDx-SCC development data published - Castle Biosciences announced the publication of development and validation data for DecisionDx-SCC, its prognostic test for patients diagnosed with high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, or SCC. The test is expected to be launched commercially in the second half of 2020. The article was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, or JAAD. The study results demonstrate that DecisionDx-SCC is an independent predictor of metastatic risk that can complement current cancer risk-factor staging systems for patients with high-risk SCC. The 40-gene expression profile test was successfully developed to stratify high-risk SCC patients into three classes based on metastasis risk: Class 1, or low-risk, Class 2A, or high-risk and Class 2B, or highest-risk, using a training set of 122 patients. The independent, multicenter validation study included 321 patients, of which 93% had one or more NCCN-defined high-risk features, and 52 patients experienced metastasis. DecisionDx-SCC demonstrated strong independent prognostic value in multivariate analyses compared to the BWH and AJCC v8 staging systems. When compared to the BWH staging system, DecisionDx-SCC Class 2B had a hazard ratio, or HR, of 8.72 compared to an HR of 2.03 for BWH high risk. Similarly, when compared to the AJCC v8 staging system, DecisionDx-SCC Class 2B had an HR of 9.55 compared to an HR of 2.68 for AJCC high risk. Patients with a DecisionDx-SCC Class 1 result had a 91.6% 3-year metastasis-free survival, or MFS, rate, significantly better than the MFS rate for patients with a high-risk Class 2A or highest risk Class 2B test result. The negative predictive value, or NPV, for the DecisionDx-SCC test was 91.1%. DecisionDx-SCC Class 2B tumors had a PPV of 60%, an improvement upon the PPV observed for both the BWH and AJCC v8 staging systems. DecisionDx-SCC is the second skin cancer test discovered, developed and validated by Castle Biosciences.

07:16 EDT Centene and Quest Diagnostics partner to increase COVID-19 testing access - Centene (CNC) announced a collaboration with Quest Diagnostics (DGX) to increase access to real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction COVID-19 testing in critical areas of need across the country. Through this collaboration, Centene will facilitate the distribution of 25,000 Quest COVID-19 test kits each week to Federally Qualified Health Centers in ten states or districts across the country. As part of the collaboration, Centene will provide oversight and training to ensure test kits are received and processed efficiently. Distribution of kits will begin May 4th, and Quest Diagnostics will conduct the COVID-19 testing through its network of laboratories across the U.S.

07:11 EDT Criteo authorizes share repurchase program of up to $30M - Criteo has authorized a share repurchase program of up to $30M of the company's outstanding American Depositary Shares. This program relies primarily upon the authorization provided under L. 225-208 of the French Commercial Code, and as such the company intends to use repurchased shares under this new program to satisfy employee equity obligations in lieu of issuing new shares, which would limit future dilution for its employee equity program. The program does not require the purchase of any minimum number of shares and may be suspended, modified or discontinued at any time without prior notice.

07:11 EDT Yum! Brands reports Q1 SSS down 7% - Reports Q1 KFC SSS down 8%, Pizza Hut SSS down 11%, and Taco Bell SSS up 1%.

07:10 EDT Sonic Foundry announces partnership between Mediasite, Ankabut - The use of video learning is rapidly increasing in the Middle East due to a new partnership between Mediasite and Ankabut, the United Arab Emirates' Advanced National Research and Education Network. Mediasite is Ankabut's preferred video provider, offering all colleges, universities and government agencies in the region cost-effective services to start or expand their digital learning initiatives, especially vital now as institutions must turn to online learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Ankabut, an initiative of long-time Mediasite user Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, connects schools and agencies together across the United Arab Emirates. It provides IT infrastructure to remove barriers to technology use and empower institutions to incorporate educational technologies in classrooms and training rooms. The partnership with Mediasite lets the participating institutions connect any number of their Mediasite video capture solutions to Ankabut's secure, centrally managed Mediasite deployment. This provides institutions a scalable in-country infrastructure to record, deliver and manage video. Institutions can purchase Mediasite directly through Ankabut, which will host the deployment for them.

07:07 EDT uniQure continuing work to resume treatment in Phase I/II trial of AMT-130 - In March 2020, the Company announced that the first two patients in the Phase I/II clinical trial of AMT-130 in Huntington's disease have been enrolled after successfully meeting all screening and eligibility criteria. Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the two procedures that were scheduled to occur in late March have been temporarily postponed. The Company continues its work to resume treatment in the Phase I/II trial as soon as it is clinically appropriate and will provide further updates on the program at that time.

07:04 EDT ADP cuts FY20 adjusted EPS growth view to 4%-7%, consensus $5.83 - Cuts FY20 revenue growth view to about 3%. Sees FY20 adjusted EBIT margin down 25 to up 25bps. Previously, ADP forecasted adjusted EPS growth 12%-14%, with revenue growth of about 6%.

07:01 EDT General Dynamics reports backlog up 24% to $85.7B

06:55 EDT resTORbio trading halted, news pending

06:51 EDT Airbus issues no new guidance in light of COVID-19 - Airbus said: "The 2020 guidance was also withdrawn in March. The impact of COVID-19 on the business continues to be assessed and given the limited visibility, in particular with respect to the delivery situation, no new guidance is issued."

06:49 EDT Avery Dennison sees decline in organic growth, earnings for 2020 - "The coronavirus is having a substantial impact on our teams, our markets and customers, our communities, and, of course, our shareholders," said Mitch Butier, Chairman, President and CEO. "The situation has been evolving in unpredictable ways, and the team is doing a tremendous job adapting to the new reality, anticipating and planning for various scenarios. "Our first priority in this crisis has been and will continue to be protecting the health and welfare of our teams, followed immediately by continuing to deliver industry-leading product quality and service for our customers," added Butier. "I am proud of the actions we are taking to protect our team of 30,000 plus employees while meeting our customers' needs in this challenging environment. I want to thank the entire team, especially those in our plants, for their tireless efforts to deliver for our customers through this crisis while keeping each other safe, bringing a whole new level of agility and dedication to address the unique challenges at hand. While earnings exceeded our expectations in the first quarter, the early stages of this downturn are playing out differently than past recessions. Label and Packaging Materials, our largest business, serves essential categories that are experiencing higher demand during the pandemic. In contrast, RBIS, which primarily serves apparel markets, is seeing a significant decline in demand, reflecting widespread retail store and apparel manufacturing closures. As a result, we anticipate a decline in organic growth and earnings for the year, as strong volume in essential label categories is more than offset by declines in categories serving apparel and industrial end markets. We are actively managing this dynamic environment, updating our scenario plans to reflect the unique nature of this global health crisis. We entered this crisis from a position of financial, operational, and commercial strength. Though the nature of the macro challenges is different than in past recessions, our business is resilient across economic cycles, as we serve diverse end markets. Past scenario planning has ensured that we have ample liquidity and a strong balance sheet, and we're targeting free cash flow to be comparable to what we delivered last year."

06:47 EDT Airbus CEO says in midst of 'gravest crisis aerospace industry has ever known' - "We saw a solid start to the year both commercially and industrially but we are quickly seeing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic coming through in the numbers. We are now in the midst of the gravest crisis the aerospace industry has ever known. We're implementing a number of measures to ensure the future of Airbus. We kicked off early by bolstering available liquidity to support financial flexibility. We're adapting commercial aircraft production rates in line with customer demand and concentrating on cash containment and our longer-term cost structure to ensure we can return to normal operations once the situation improves. At all times, the health and safety of Airbus' employees is our top priority. Now we need to work as an industry to restore passenger confidence in air travel as we learn to coexist with this pandemic. We're focused on the resilience of our company to ensure business continuity," said Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury.

06:47 EDT Avery Dennison temporarily pauses share repurchase activity

06:46 EDT Volkswagen: COVID-19 pandemic substantially impacted business in Q1 - CFO Frank Witter: "The global Covid-19 pandemic substantially impacted our business in the first quarter. We've taken numerous countermeasures to cut costs and ensure liquidity and we continue to be robustly positioned financially. The Volkswagen Group is steering through this unprecedented crisis with focus and determination."

06:42 EDT Cadence Bancorp cuts quarterly dividend to 5c from 17.5c per share - The dividend will be paid on May 15 to holders of record of Cadence's Class A common stock on May 8.

06:39 EDT Valero sees 2020 CapEx approximately $2.1B, down from prior view of $2.5B - The $2.1B includes capital expenditures for turnarounds, catalysts, and joint venture investments.

06:38 EDT Northrop Grumman reports Q1 net awards $7.9B, backlog totaled $64.2B

06:30 EDT Cenovus Energy provides update on COVID-19 impact measures - In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cenovus took swift action to protect the health and safety of its staff and ensure the continuity of its business. Over the past two years, Cenovus has reduced its sustaining capital and operating costs. In Q1 and in early April, the company implemented significant additional measures to enhance its financial resilience in response to the recent decline in commodity prices and the overall weak business environment. Cenovus announced the temporary suspension of its crude-by-rail program and, as a result, updated its production guidance for the year. The company reduced its 2020 capital spending guidance by $600M at the midpoint of the range and lowered its forecast operating costs for the year by approximately $100M vs.its original 2020 budget. Cenovus also announced a $50M reduction in its general and administrative spending guidance for 2020, a temporary suspension of its dividend and the deferral of investment decisions on major growth projects. Currently, Cenovus's oil sands production has been ramped down by approximately 60,000 bbls/d, and the company has flexibility to quickly ramp up production when market conditions improve. The company is confident in its ability to safely reduce production even further without impacting the integrity of its reservoirs.

06:29 EDT Hasbro says integration of eOne 'progressing well' - The company said, "The combination of Hasbro's extensive brand portfolio, product innovation and licensing capabilities with eOne's story-led brand skills and proven content development and monetization expertise, creates a business that can deliver long-term value and growth to shareholders. The integration is progressing well and the company remains on track to deliver planned synergies of $130 million by the end of 2022."

06:27 EDT Hasbro: Global offices, outside of China, remain closed - The company said, "The health and safety of Hasbro employees, stakeholders and communities are our top priority. Hasbro global offices, outside of China, were closed on March 16 and remain closed today. The timing of re-opening offices will be informed by local governmental, health and safety guidelines. Our China offices reopened in March following shutdowns during the first quarter. "

06:26 EDT GE: Aviation saw dramatic decline in commercial aerospace from virus - During the first quarter of 2020, impact from COVID-19 began having a material adverse impact on GE's operations, financial performance, and many of its customers and suppliers. While factors related directly and indirectly to the COVID-19 pandemic have begun impacting operations and financial performance atvarying levels across all of GE's businesses, the most significant financial impact to date has been at Aviation and GECapital Aviation Services, where COVID-19 caused a rapid decline in global commercial aviation demand in March. In total, COVID-19 factors negatively impacted GE CFOA and GE Industrial free cash flow by approximately $1 billion, and negatively impacted GE Industrial profit by approximately $0.8 billion and GE Capital earnings by approximately $0.1 billion.

06:25 EDT NanoViricides provides COVID-19 drug candidate, Shingles drug update at showcase - NanoViricides announced that the company's presentation with an update of its drug development programs for the treatment of Shingles and for COVID-19 made at the Planet MicroCap Showcase on April 22 is now available for viewing. The company has drug candidates that were highly successful in cell culture studies against multiple coronaviruses. The observed broad-spectrum anti-coronavirus activity of these drug candidates provides confidence that even as the virus mutates, the selected nanoviricide drug would continue to be effective against it. The company's technology goes well beyond antibodies in attacking the virus particle. Whereas an antibody binds to the virus only at two points, a nanoviricide is designed to bind to the virus at several points, like a nano-scale "Velcro" tape, and further to encapsulate the virus, thereby disabling it from infecting a cell. Viruses can escape antibodies due to genomic changes including mutations. However, a virus continues to bind to the same cellular receptor with the same "footprint". A nanoviricide is designed by attempting to mimic this footprint, and therefore, it is expected that it would continue to be effective in spite of changes in the virus. A nanoviricide is designed to act like a "Venus-fly-Trap" for viruses. The company is anticipating a collaboration to enable testing against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease.The company has worked on developing an animal model to test anti-coronavirus effectiveness in vivo using a model coronavirus that binds to the same ACE2 receptor as SARS-CoV-2, namely human coronavirus NL-63, or hCoV-NL63. The company anticipates using this animal model to obtain indications of effectiveness of the nanoviricide test drug candidates against the model coronavirus in vivo. The company's first IND application for the use of NV-HHV-101 skin cream for Shingles Rash treatment is being prepared and is being reviewed by the company's regulatory consultants. The company is currently working on establishing collaborations with clinical regulatory consultants and is evaluating clinical site selections. The company has developed a preliminary clinical plan and is preparing the more detailed clinical plan to be included in the IND application. The company is developing broad-spectrum drugs against coronaviruses by developing mimics of the ACE2 receptor to which SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-1, hCoV-NL-63 and possibly some other coronaviruses bind. The company has previously developed a broad-spectrum anti-herpesvirus drug candidate. This candidate, originally developed to be active against HSV-1, the virus that causes cold sores, was found to be effective against HSV-2, the virus that causes genital ulcers, and also against VZV, the virus that causes chickenpox and shingles. Of these, HSV-1 and HSV-2 are known to bind to the HVEM cellular receptor, which the company mimicked to produce the drug candidates against herpesviruses. It is not definitively known whether VZV binds to HVEM. NV-HHV-101 is the company's lead drug candidate that has completed IND-enabling studies, and is ready for human clinical trials, once the IND process is completed. NanoViricides is one of a few biopharma companies that has its own cGMP-compliant manufacturing facility. The company intends to produce its drugs for clinical trials in this facility. The company has the capability to produce sufficient drug for about 1,000 patients in a single batch of production, depending upon dosage. This production capacity is anticipated to be sufficient for first-in-human use in the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, as well as for the anticipated clinical trials of NV-HHV-101.

06:24 EDT Constellium withdraws all financial guidance - Constellium has taken a number of actions to offset the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes reducing input purchases, all discretionary spending, and labor costs; managing trade working capital; targeting capital spending of EUR175M in 2020, down EUR96M vs. 2019; and building liquidity, including through the Delayed Draw Term Loan, potentially loans under government-sponsored borrowing programs in France, Germany and Switzerland, and other available governmental aid programs. Management remains confident in its ability to navigate through this global crisis. Given the continuously evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, Constellium is unable to forecast with reasonable accuracy the implications of the crisis or the environment that will follow, including the level of demand across our end markets or the impact on our supply chains. Therefore, the company believes it is prudent to withdraw all financial guidance until our visibility improves.

06:23 EDT General Electric reports Q1 Power revenue $4.025B vs. $4.617B last year - Orders of $4.1 billion were up 12% reported and 14% organically. Renewable Energy orders of $3.1 billion were down 13% reported and 11% organically, with equipment and services orders down, while international orders were up 11%. Revenues of $3.2 billion were up 26% reported and 28% organically. Aviation orders of $7.4 billion were down 14% reported and 13% organically with equipment down 31% reported and services down 4% reported. Revenues of $6.9 billion were down 13% reported and 11% organically. Healthcare orders of $5.3 billion were up 7% reported, 9% organically, and 6% organically excluding BioPharma, driven by surge demand for products used in the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19, partially offset by lower demand for products used in elective and less time-sensitive procedures. Revenues of $4.7 billion were up 1% reported and 2% organically.

06:21 EDT GE CEO Culp: Impact from COVID-19 materially challenged Q1 results - GE Chairman and CEO H. Lawrence Culp, Jr. said, "During this unprecedented pandemic, the GE team is focused on protecting the safety of our employees and communities, serving customers in their critical time of need, and preserving our strength for the long term. GE is delivering critical infrastructure and services across the globe, including our teams at Healthcare supporting caregivers who diagnose and treat COVID-19 patients every day." Culp continued, "The impact from COVID-19 materially challenged our first-quarter results, especially in Aviation, where we saw a dramatic decline in commercial aerospace as the virus spread globally in March. We are targeting more than $2 billion in operational cost out and $3 billion of cash preservation to mitigate the financial impact, and we executed a series of actions to de-risk and de-lever our balance sheet amid a challenging environment. Whilethere are many unknowns, there will be another side-planes will fly again, healthcare will normalize and modernize, and the world still needs more efficient, resilient energy. We're embracing today's reality and accelerating our multi-year transformation to make GE a stronger, nimbler, and more valuable company."

06:19 EDT Summit Materials withdraws 2020 adjusted EBITDA guidance, lowers CapEx view - Summit is withdrawing its previously announced 2020 Adjusted EBITDA guidance until the company has better visibility into the extent of economic disruption related to COVID-19 and the ultimate resumption of normal business conditions. The company is reducing its 2020 capital expenditure guidance to $145M-$160M, including $50M-$60M estimated for greenfield projects, from its prior 2020 capital expenditure guidance of $185M-$205M, including $65M-$80M for greenfield projects, as certain items have been deferred at Summit's option to later periods.

06:15 EDT Enterprise Products lowers 2020 CapEx view by $1B to $2.5B-$3.0B - For 2020, Enterprise Products currently expects to reduce growth capital investments by approximately $1B to $2.5B-$3.0B compared to previous guidance. The company expects sustaining capital expenditures for 2020 will be $100M lower compared to previous guidance to $300M. Expects growth capital investments for 2021 and 2022 to be approximately $2.5B and $1.5B, respectively. The company does not expect to receive governmental approvals for SPOT during 2020.

06:11 EDT United Therapeutics provides clinical, commercial update amid COVID-19 pandemic - The company said, "We are closely monitoring developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic and are making every effort to ensure we remain focused on the health and well-being of our patients and our employees while maintaining business continuity. At this time, it is too early to predict what impact this pandemic, and the associated economic downturn, will have on our business. While we remain confident in our prospects over the longer term, there is considerable uncertainty and lack of visibility regarding our near-term revenue growth prospects and product development plans due to the rapidly evolving situation. Therefore, we are no longer able to predict whether our full-year 2020 net revenues will grow compared to 2019. We believe our healthy balance sheet makes us well-positioned to endure the impact of this pandemic. With enough cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities on hand to fund our operations as we conduct them today for at least two years regardless of our future revenues, we are able to retain and hire new employees, continue our research and development and commercial activities, subject to the limitations described below, and make new strategic investments. Consequently, we expect to be able to return to "normal" operations rapidly once we are able to do so... In order to ensure access to our treprostinil-based products, and in accordance with our long-standing inventory policy, we have sufficient inventory of finished treprostinil-based products (Remodulin, Tyvaso, and Orenitram) to supply the market for two years at current levels of demand. In addition, we manufacture our own treprostinil active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) at our Silver Spring, Maryland facility and have three years' worth of API on hand at any given time. These products and API supplies are all stored at our own warehouses in the United States. Manufacturing of our treprostinil-based products, both internally and at our contract manufacturers, continues mostly as usual, and we do not currently anticipate any supply shortages of our treprostinil-based products. We also have approximately 14 months' inventory of our Unituxin drug supply, plus raw materials for additional production, and intend to continue manufacturing Unituxin in quantities sufficient to meet current patient demand. Unlike our treprostinil-based products, Unituxin is a biologic with a shorter shelf life, so our ability to maintain longer-term inventories is limited; however, we do not currently anticipate any supply shortages of Unituxin. We have redundant qualified manufacturing sites for our two current best-selling products: Remodulin and Tyvaso. Should either site be impacted by an outbreak, production activities could be diverted to the other qualified site, each of which is capable of supplying the worldwide market. Our internal manufacturing and packaging operations are independently staffed and physically segregated by technical capability (e.g., oral solid dose, aseptic vial filling, etc.) Should any internal operation be impacted by an outbreak, we believe that area and staff could shut down and isolate, respectively, without affecting the other manufacturing areas.To date, we have not experienced any interruption of our supply of drug products and devices needed to support our ongoing clinical trials... Our commercial field-based teams are meeting with prescribing physicians virtually instead of in person. As of March 31, 2020, COVID-19 has not had a material impact on our treprostinil-based therapies, positively or negatively, with respect to specialty pharmacy orders, new patient prescriptions or new patient starts. Thus far in April 2020, however, we have observed several COVID-19 related impacts on U.S. demand for our treprostinil-based therapies: One of our specialty pharmacy distributors placed a larger than normal order during April to increase its inventory beyond typical levels (but still within contractual requirements) to: (1) account for potential increased investigational use of Tyvaso for ARDS, which is a major cause of patient morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19; (2) prepare for an anticipated increase in patient requests for 60- or 90-day refills (as compared to their typical 30-day supply); and (3) increase inventory levels across various locations to ensure uninterrupted business continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have seen a reduction in new patient prescriptions across all of our treprostinil-based products throughout the month, which we believe is due to the inability of patients to visit their physician's office to determine whether our medicines may be appropriate. While new patient starts remained steady during the first half of the month, we have experienced a decline in new patient starts in the second half of the month for the reasons noted above. We cannot predict the impact of these events on our near-term revenues. We are uncertain as to how long the reduction in new patient prescriptions and new patient starts will last, whether there will be an increase in new prescriptions and new patient starts in later months due to pent up demand, or whether these events will materially impact orders from specialty pharmacy distributors since they place orders based on current utilization trends and contractual minimum and maximum requirements. We remain on track to launch the Remunity Pump for Remodulin in July 2020, but recognize that the launch could be delayed or limited due to pandemic-related constraints experienced by physicians and patients, the specialty pharmacy distributors that we are engaging to prefill Remunity cartridges, or any delay in DEKA's ability to supply devices to us... Most of our ongoing clinical studies have paused enrollment during the pandemic, but patients already enrolled in studies continue to receive the study drug and complete necessary clinical evaluations as appropriate. To date, we have paused enrollment in the following studies, among others: PERFECT study related to Tyvaso in pulmonary hypertension associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ADVANCE OUTCOMES and ADVANCE CAPACITY studies of ralinepag, BREEZE and pivotal pharmacokinetics studies of Treprostinil Technosphere(R), SAPPHIRE study of Aurora-GT(TM), phase I study of Unexisome(TM) for bronchopulmonary dysplasia and phase I study of OreniPro(TM)."

06:05 EDT Owens Corning lowers 2020 general corporate expense view to $100M-$120M - The key economic factors that continue to impact the company's businesses are global industrial production, U.S. housing starts, and global commercial and industrial construction activity. The company expects the COVID-19 pandemic will negatively impact the market outlook of its three businesses that was previously provided. The magnitude of the impact will depend on the depth and duration of the crisis, as well as the timing of the recovery in the markets served by the company. The company continues to focus on reducing costs, minimizing capital expenditures, and managing working capital. General corporate expenses are now estimated to be $100M-$120M vs. previous estimate $125M-$135M. Capital additions are now estimated to be $150M-$200M below depreciation and amortization of approximately $460M, rather than in line with depreciation and amortization. The company will continue to sustain strong conversion of adjusted earnings into free cash flow. Interest expense is currently estimated to be between $120M-$125M, compared with its previous estimate of $115M. The company estimates an effective tax rate of 26%-28%, and a cash tax rate of 10%-12% on adjusted pre-tax earnings, which is due to the company's foreign tax credit carryforwards.

06:03 EDT Wynn Resorts, University Medical Center enter partnership for COVID-19 testing - Wynn Resorts and University Medical Center, or UMC, announced a unique partnership, which will allow all employees of Wynn Las Vegas to have access to testing for the COVID-19 virus at no cost to the employee. UMC's investment in a new lab has increased the capacity to perform thousands of tests per day. Wynn employees will initially have direct access to COVID-19 testing at UMC designated locations in Las Vegas beginning the week of May 4th. As the company works with government officials to determine an opening date for Wynn Las Vegas, it will set up on-site testing in coordination with UMC for employees. This will ensure that Wynn employees that would like to be tested will have access to reliable and accurate COVID-19 testing well in advance and leading up to the opening of the resort. Wynn also announced that 70 team members from its Wynn Teleservices Call Center will assist the Clark County Commission with its ramped up contact tracing efforts.

06:01 EDT Anthem temporarily suspends share repurchase activity

05:45 EDT Yum China enters partnership with Lavazza to launch coffee shop concept in China - Yum China and the Lavazza Group announced that they entered into a joint venture, to explore and develop the Lavazza coffee shop concept in China. As the first step, a new Lavazza Flagship Store in Shanghai, their first outside of Italy, opened its doors to customers. To create the food offering for the Flagship Store, Lavazza partnered with a Michelin starred chef to bring the most authentic Italian street food to the local Chinese market. Customers will be able to enjoy a wide offering of savory and sweet Italian snacks, such as focaccia and cannolo alla crema, to name a few, all showcasing different gastronomic specialties from across Italy.

05:31 EDT NIO Inc. announces entry into definitive agreement for investments in NIO China - NIO Inc. announced that it entered into definitive agreements for investments in NIO China with a group of investors led by Hefei City Construction and Investment Holding, CMG-SDIC Capital, and Anhui Provincial Emerging Industry Investment. Under the definitive agreements, the Strategic Investors will invest an aggregate of RMB7 billion in cash into NIO Holding, the legal entity of NIO China. NIO will inject its core businesses and assets in China, including vehicle research and development, supply chain, sales and services and NIO Power, into NIO China. The Asset Consideration is valued at RMB 17.77B, as calculated based on 85% of the average market value of NIO Inc. over the thirty public trading days preceding April 21. Further, NIO will invest RMB 4.26Bb in cash into NIO China. Upon the completion of the investments, NIO will hold 75.9% of controlling equity interests in NIO China, and the Strategic Investors will collectively hold the remaining 24.1%. The company expects the closing of the investments to take place in the second quarter of 2020, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The Strategic Investors and NIO will each inject cash into NIO China in five installments, namely RMB 3.5B and RMB 1.278B respectively within five business days of the satisfaction of closing conditions, RMB 1.5B and RMB 1.278B respectively on or prior to June 30, RMB 1B and RMB 0.852B respectively on or prior to September 30, RMB 0.5B and RMB 0.426B respectively on or prior to December 31, 2020, and RMB 0.5B and RMB 0.426B respectively on or prior to March 31, 2021. Moreover, the Asset Consideration shall be injected into NIO China within one year of closing. NIO China will establish its headquarters in the Hefei Economic and Technological Development Area, or HETA, where the company's main manufacturing hub is located, for its business operation, research and development, sales and services, supply chain and manufacturing functions. NIO will collaborate with the Strategic Investors and HETA to develop NIO China's business and to support the accelerated development of the smart electric vehicle sectors in Hefei in the future.