Stockwinners Market Radar for May 26, 2020 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:17 EDT Uber directors sells 250K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Uber disclosed that its director Jill Hazenbaker sold 250K shares of common stock on May 21-26th in a total transaction size of $8.6M.

19:42 EDT Triumph Group awarded engine component MRO contract for Chinook fleet - Triumph Group announced that Triumph Systems & Support was recently awarded a six-year contract extension for maintenance, repair and overhaul, or MRO, services on an international CH-47 Chinook fleet. Triumph's Systems, Electronics and Controls operating company will provide product repair and overhaul services for the fleet's EMC-32T hydromechanical fuel control, technical support and product investigations as part of the long-term agreement.

18:41 EDT Intuit CEO: We are moving towards a virtual world - In an interview on CNBC's Mad Money, Sasan Goodarzi said Intuit has been leveraging its machine learning capabilities during the COVID-19 crisis. He thinks COVID-19 has "sped up" the world about five years in terms of online activity. Goodarzi said he "could not be more excited" about the Credit Karma acquisition.

18:19 EDT S&P announces changes to S&P MidCap 400, S&P SmallCap 600 indices - S&P Dow Jones Indices will make the following changes to the S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap 600 effective prior to the open of trading on Monday, June 1: Coherus BioSciences (CHRS) will replace Opus Bank (OPB) in the S&P SmallCap 600. Pacific Premier Bancorp (PPBI) is acquiring Opus Bank in a transaction expected to be completed soon pending final conditions. Essent Group (ESNT) will replace Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) in the S&P MidCap 400, and Patterson-UTI Energy will replace Noble Corporation (NE) in the S&P SmallCap 600. Noble is no longer representative of the small-cap market space.

17:49 EDT Fidelity National receives regulatory approvals to acquire FGL Holdings - Fidelity National Financial (FNF) and FGL Holdings (FG) announced that FNF has received all regulatory approvals and clearances necessary to close the transaction under the previously announced merger agreement pursuant to which FNF will acquire F&G. The anticipated closing date for the transaction is June 1 assuming that F&G shareholders approve the merger and related proposals at the F&G extraordinary general meeting scheduled to be held virtually on May 29 and subject to the satisfaction or waiver of customary conditions at the closing. As previously announced, the deadline for F&G shareholders to elect the form of merger consideration they wish to receive is Wednesday, May 27.

17:23 EDT Patterson-UTI to replace Noble Corp. in S&P 600 at open on 6/1

17:22 EDT Coherus Biosciences to replace Opus Bank in S&P 600 at open on 6/1 - Pacific Premier Bancorp (PPBI) is acquiring Opus Bank (OPB) in a transaction expected to be completed soon pending final conditions.

17:18 EDT Harvard Bioscience expects to 'meet or exceed' previously announced actions - The company states: "The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on our academic research customers. While this will cause some delays, we still expect to meet or exceed our strategic actions announced on September 9, 2019. We have stabilized the business and completed assembling an experienced leadership team. We have the right executives and Board of Directors to turn the Company around this year. We have reduced our interest expense by paying down our debt by $6 million since July 2019. While bank refinancing is delayed, we expect to have the leverage ratio below 3x this year, as we previously stated. Once banks are ready to refinance, we are ready to do so. We have improved margins through consolidations, and have reduced cost of goods sold dating our Connecticut manufacturing operation, which we expect to finish in the next quarter. In addition, we expect to complete the streamlining of our UK operation next quarter. These consolidations have resulted - and will continue to result - in reductions in both COGS and operating expenses. Operating expenses and COGS were further reduced by restructuring actions initiated in late 2019 followed by reductions in force, and these expense reductions were further augmented by the COVID-19 action plan we put in place in the second quarter of this year. We have begun creating a leaner global manufacturing and supply chain through the consolidations described above and by bringing together the operations team under one experienced leader, Ken Olson. We have re-energized and refocused sales by appointing experienced sales leaders. Ryan Wallace now leads direct sales to CROs, Pharma and certain large customer accounts where strategic selling of large multi-year sales are typical. Don Stewart and Henrik Schmidt are focusing on expanding the total available market and driving sales to Academic Research Customers in the Americas & APAC, and Europe, respectively. We have started rationalizing our product portfolio and pricing, eliminating non-strategic lower margin products and are driving cross selling of historical cellular and molecular products into CROs/Pharma and Pre-Clinical products into large academic labs."

17:15 EDT Google CEO says will begin reopening 'more buildings in more cities' on July 6 - Sundar Pichai CEO of Google and Alphabet sent the following email to Google employees earlier today. The email said in part: "As mentioned in our last TGIF, we'll be approaching the return to office with a gradual, phased approach, taking both team and individual needs and preferences into account: we are taking slow, deliberate steps to begin re-opening offices in areas where they still remain largely closed. We're also investing more in your work-from-home setup to make sure you have what you need to be productive and comfortable. Beginning July 6, assuming external conditions allow, we'll start to open more buildings in more cities. This will give Googlers who need to come back to the office-or, capacity permitting, who want to come back-the opportunity to return on a limited, rotating basis (think: one day every couple of weeks, so roughly 10 percent building occupancy). We'll have rigorous health and safety measures in place to ensure social distancing and sanitization guidelines are followed, so the office will look and feel different than when you left. Our goal is to be fair in the way we allocate time in the office, while limiting the number of people who come in, consistent with safety protocols. In the September timeframe (again, assuming conditions allow), we will further scale the rotation program, building over time to 30 percent capacity (which would mean most people who want to come in could do so on a limited basis, while still prioritizing those who need to come in). " Reference Link

17:07 EDT Core-Mark appoints Jennifer Hulett as chief human resource officer - Core-Mark (CORE) announced that Jennifer Hulett will join the company as senior VP and chief human resource officer, effective immediately. As a member of Core-Mark's executive leadership team, Hulett will be responsible for employee engagement, change management, talent acquisition and play a role in shaping the company's future strategic direction. Hulett joins Core-Mark from Ericsson (ERIC), a multinational networking and telecommunications company, where she was Vice President of People for North America.

17:04 EDT SailingStone writes open letter to Turquoise Hill's shareholders - SailingStone Capital Partners announces that it has written an open letter to the shareholders of Turquoise Hill Resources informing them of SailingStone's voting intentions at the rescheduled Annual and Special Meeting on July 24. In 2019, Turquoise Hill incumbent independent directors received WITHHOLD votes from more than 50% of the minority investors who voted, despite the explicit support of ISS and Glass Lewis. Instead of engaging in substantive discussions with their largest minority owners to address legitimate corporate governance concerns, the Board chose to hide behind its majority shareholder. The minority owners deserve representation on the Board, and as a result SailingStone is supportive of and will vote FOR the independent director nominee Matthew Halbower as well as the proposal to allow minorities to nominate and elect three of the seven directors. Conversely, SailingStone will once again vote WITHHOLD for the legacy independent directors given their lack of accountability to and alignment with the minorities.

17:02 EDT Idexx Laboratories sees 'meaningful improvement in U.S. clinical visit trends' - Idexx Laboratories provided an update on U.S. Companion Animal Market Trends through Friday, May 22nd. "We are monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S. companion animal practice visit trends, including the effect of stay-at-home and social distancing policies to prevent the spread of COVID-19, as well as the related prioritization of sick and emergency testing at veterinary clinics. With an additional four weeks of activity since our last update, we continue to see meaningful improvement in U.S. clinical visit trends across major regions, with overall U.S. clinical visits, non-wellness visits and wellness visits surpassing prior year levels in the most recent week ended May 22nd."

17:01 EDT Majesco's Digital1st insurance platform chosen by Millers Mutual - Majesco announced their partnership with Millers Mutual to use cloud-native Digital1st Insurance platform to develop their next generation engagement and experience for customers, agents and employees.

16:55 EDT Home Depot appoints Stephen Gibbs as Chief Accounting Officer - On May 21, the board of Home Depot (HD) appointed Stephen Gibbs as the company's Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer and Corporate Controller, designating him as the company's principal accounting officer. Mr. Gibbs has served as the company's Vice President and Corporate Controller since March 2020, after joining the company as Vice President - Finance in February 2020. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Gibbs served as Senior Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer for Tyson Foods (TSN) from 2018 to 2020.

16:48 EDT Domino's Pizza says nearly all U.S. stores remain open, dining rooms closed - As of May 24, 2020, nearly all of the company's U.S. stores remain open, with dining rooms closed and stores deploying contactless delivery and carryout solutions. Based on information reported to the company by its master franchisees, the company estimates that as of May 24, 2020, there are less than 900 international stores that are temporarily closed.

16:47 EDT Polaris Industries announces covenants relief - To further enhance Polaris' liquidity and ensure full availability under its credit agreement, the company and its partner lenders and noteholders amended their arrangements to favorably adjust the existing financial covenants. Under the revised agreements, the company's maximum leverage ratio temporarily increases from 3.5 to 1 to 4.75 to 1. This covenant relief, which will be in place until March 31, 2021, is structured to provide Polaris the ability to maximize the use of its existing credit facility, allowing for increased liquidity and flexibility should there be any additional unexpected negative impact on the business resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

16:43 EDT TJX CFO sells 48.4K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, TJX disclosed that its CFO Scott Goldenberg sold 48.4K shares of common stock on May 22nd. The total transaction size was $2.59M.

16:37 EDT Allogene Therapeutics announces webinar to review initial ALLO-501 phase 1 data - Allogene Therapeuticsy announced that management will review initial results from the ALLO-501 ALPHA Phase 1 trial in relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma on May 29, 2020 via a live webinar at 5:30 AM Pacific Time/8:30 AM Eastern Time.

16:34 EDT Teligent announces one-for-ten reverse stock split - Teligent announced that as of 12:01 a.m., Eastern Time, on May 28, it will effect a one-for-ten reverse stock split of its outstanding common stock, which will be effective for trading purposes as of the commencement of trading on Thursday, May 28.

16:32 EDT Bristol-Myers, Repare Therapeutics announce research collaboration - Repare Therapeutics announced it has entered into an exclusive, worldwide research collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb. Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will leverage Repare's proprietary, CRISPR-enabled genome-wide synthetic lethal target discovery platform, SNIPRx, to jointly identify multiple synthetic lethal precision oncology targets for drug candidates. Repare will grant BMS exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize therapeutics for select validated synthetic lethal precision oncology targets discovered under the collaboration. As part of the agreement, BMS will make an upfront payment of $65M which includes a $15M equity investment in Repare. Repare will be eligible to receive up to approximately $3B in license fees, discovery, development, regulatory and sales-based milestones, in addition to royalty payments on net sales of each product commercialized by BMS.

16:21 EDT Ascena Retail adopts tax benefits preservation plan - ascena retail grou announced that its Board of Directors adopted a tax benefits preservation plan. Under the tax benefits preservation plan, the Company will issue a dividend of one right for each share of its common stock held by stockholders of record as of the close of business on June 5, 2020. The plan is designed to protect stockholder value by mitigating the likelihood of an "ownership change" that would result in significant limitations on the Company's ability to use its net operating losses or other tax attributes to offset future income. The plan is similar to plans adopted by other public companies with significant net operating loss carryforwards. The tax benefits preservation plan provides, subject to certain exceptions, that if any person or group acquires 4.9% or more of the Company's outstanding common stock, there would be a triggering event potentially resulting in significant dilution in the voting power and economic ownership of that person or group. Existing stockholders who hold 4.9% or more of the Company's outstanding common stock as of the date of the plan will trigger a dilutive event only if they acquire an additional 1% of the outstanding shares of the Company's common stock.

16:18 EDT Monmouth Real Estate announces new acquisition in Ogden, UT - Monmouth Real Estate Investment announced the acquisition of a new 69,734 square foot LEED-certified industrial building located at 985 W. Kershaw Street, Ogden, UT at a purchase price of $12.9 million. The property is net-leased for 15 years to Federal Express Corporation, a Delaware corporation. The building is situated on approximately 7.52 acres. Michael P. Landy, President and CEO, commented, "We are very pleased to announce this new acquisition. The business-friendly state of Utah is a new territory for us and we look forward to expanding our presence here. This marks our fourth acquisition thus far in fiscal 2020. In keeping with our business model, these acquisitions have all been brand new built-to-suit properties subject to long-term leases to investment grade tenants. Supply chains and logistics companies are now more critical than ever. Some of our major tenants are seeing unprecedented demand and this strong demand is likely to continue for the foreseeable future."

16:17 EDT Horizon Technology provides $20M venture loan to Magnolia Technologies - Horizon Technology Finance announced that on May 6 it provided a $20M venture loan facility to Magnolia Medical Technologies. Magnolia is the developer of an FDA-cleared high-precision blood culture collection medical device, Steripath, designed with patented technology to prevent the contamination of blood cultures upon collection. Steripath is especially effective in reducing the false-positive diagnostic rate of bloodstream infections including sepsis, a potentially life-threatening condition, thereby decreasing unnecessary and inappropriate antibiotic use. Magnolia also has several new innovative Steripath products in development to support expanded use cases and further enhance the platform's value proposition. The company is supported by several prominent life science investors, including HealthQuest Capital, Evidity Health Capital, SightLine Partners, and RTW Investments. Magnolia will use the proceeds to continue to drive commercial growth, scale new product launches, and invest in technology platform extensions.

16:16 EDT Lincoln Educational re-opens Denver, CO campus - Lincoln Educational Services announced that it has re-opened its Denver, CO campus and resumed on-site instruction on a limited basis.

16:13 EDT ViaSat sees FY21 adjusted EBITDA up from FY20 - The company said, "We remain focused on the ViaSat-3 satellite first flight, as well as advancing progress on the ViaSat-3 global constellation as a whole. We believe the value of our diverse, resilient business portfolio will be reinforced in FY21, with anticipated strength in residential and government sales; however, we expect continued IFC weakness resulting from the COVID-19 crisis will likely inhibit revenue growth in FY2021. We expect our broadband portfolio to remain attractive post crisis - and anticipate increasing demand for our broadband services, globally. We continue to see attractive domestic and global IFC opportunities, and will remain in active pursuit of critical airline wins. Cost reduction actions already taken in FY2020 should offset much, but not all, of margin impacts of anticipated IFC revenue weakness; current plans support Adjusted EBITDA growth for FY21. Our liquidity is expected to be solid, but moderating Adjusted EBITDA growth will likely result in net leverage near the higher end of our target range."

16:08 EDT Merit Medical reaches board agreement with Starboard - Merit Medical announced that it has reached an agreement with Starboard and its affiliates, an investment firm which owns approximately 8.7% of Merit's outstanding common stock, pursuant to which the company has nominated three new independent directors -Lonny Carpenter, David Floyd and James Hogan-for election to the Merit board at the company's upcoming 2020 annual meeting of shareholders, scheduled to be held on June 22. In connection with the new director nominations, Merit also announced that Nolan Karras, David Liu, and Lynne Ward will not stand for re-election at the annual meeting and Franklin Miller will resign from the board not later than immediately following the annual meeting. Merit's board intends to appoint Ward to fill the vacancy resulting from Miller's resignation, which would place her in the class of directors standing for re-election at the 2021 annual meeting. Kent Stanger, a founder of Merit, has previously announced that he will not stand for re-election at the 2020 annual meeting. Following the meeting, Merit's board will be comprised of nine directors, seven of whom will be independent. Merit's board intends to select a new lead independent director following the annual meeting. In addition, Merit's board will form a new operating committee, which will work with Merit's management team to establish operating margin targets to be announced no later than the announcement of Merit's third quarter 2020 financial results. Messrs. Carpenter, Floyd and Hogan and Fred P. Lampropoulos, Merit's chairman and CEO, will serve as members of the operating committee with Carpenter serving as chair. Pursuant to the agreement, Starboard agreed to withdraw its director nominations previously submitted to the company and support the board's full slate of directors. Starboard also agreed to abide by customary standstill provisions and voting commitments.

16:02 EDT Qualys CFO Melissa Fisher to depart, Joo Mi Kim to succeed - Qualys announced the appointment of Joo Mi Kim as CFO. Kim will take over from current CFO Melissa Fisher who will depart at the end of the month. Joo Mi brings over 15 years of combined experience in financial planning and operations, investor relations, investment banking, and economic consulting. Most recently, she served as CFO of Impact, a leader in partnership automation, and prior to that was CFO at Aera Technology, an enterprise SaaS company.

15:36 EDT Cascades announces permanent closure of Ontario facility - Cascades announced the closure of the Brown Containerboard Packaging facility located in Burlington, Ontario, as part of the optimization initiatives for its containerboard packaging business. Cascades' Brown Containerboard Packaging operation will permanently close no later than July 31. The company says it will work to minimize the impact of this announcement on the 45 employees of this facility, including by offering them the option to transfer to Cascades' other business units.

15:11 EDT MoneyGram announces launch of Uber partnership - MoneyGram International (MGI) announced a partnership with Uber (UBER) to provide drivers and delivery couriers a discount on digital money transfers sent to family and friends in over 200 countries and territories. Alex Holmes, MoneyGram Chairman and CEO, said, "Our companies have significant overlap in the populations we serve, and drivers know and love the MoneyGram brand. In fact, this partnership is a direct result of customer feedback, and we're proud to provide drivers with affordable access to our global platform during this challenging season brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic."

14:42 EDT Latam Airlines down 46% to $1.40 after reopening trade following bankruptcy news

14:38 EDT LATAM Airlines trading resumes

13:22 EDT NYSE to commence delisting proceedings against Hertz Global - The New York Stock Exchange announced that the staff of NYSE Regulation has determined to commence proceedings to delist the common stock of Hertz Global Holdings - ticker symbol HTZ - from the NYSE. NYSE Regulation reached its decision that the company is no longer suitable for listing after the company's May 22, 2020 disclosure that the company filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. "In reaching its delisting determination, NYSE Regulation noted the uncertainty as to the ultimate effect of this process on the value of the company's common stock. The company has a right to a review of this determination by a Committee of the Board of Directors of the Exchange. If the company requests a review by the Committee, the NYSE will announce the date of such review. The NYSE will announce a suspension date at such time as i) the company does not request a review by the Committee within 10 business days of this notice, ii) the company determines that it does not intend to appeal, iii) the subsequent review of the Committee determines that the company should be suspended or, iv) there are other material developments. After the suspension announcement, the NYSE would then apply to the Securities and Exchange Commission to delist the common stock," NYSE announced.

13:12 EDT JPMorgan CEO sees 'good chance' for 'rapid recovery' after Q2 - JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is speaking at the Deutsche Bank financial services conference.

13:10 EDT JPMorgan CEO says company 'very valuable' at current share levels - JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is speaking at the Deutsche Bank financial services conference.

13:06 EDT JPMorgan CEO says trading in Q2 has been as strong as Q1 - JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is speaking at the Deutsche Bank financial services conference.

13:02 EDT JPMorgan CEO says 'marginal' NII guidance raise due to deposits, loans - JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is speaking at the Deutsche Bank financial services conference.

12:54 EDT JPMorgan CEO says would rather raise dividend versus special dividend - JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is speaking at the Deutsche Bank financial services conference.

12:36 EDT JPMorgan CEO says PPP loans will save lots of small businesses - JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is speaking at the Deutsche Bank financial services conference.

12:00 EDT FGL Holdings falls -10.3% - FGL Holdings is down -10.3%, or -$1.09 to $9.48.

12:00 EDT Spirit Airlines rises 18.1% - Spirit Airlines is up 18.1%, or $1.84 to $12.01.

12:00 EDT Fly Leasing rises 29.3% - Fly Leasing is up 29.3%, or $1.81 to $7.98.

11:45 EDT Regeneron, Sanofi announce FDA approval of Dupixent for children - Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) and Sanofi (SNY) announced that the FDA has approved Dupixent for children aged 6 to 11 years with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis whose disease is not adequately controlled with topical prescription therapies or when those therapies are not advisable. Dupixent is the only biologic medicine approved for this population. Dupixent is a fully-human monoclonal antibody that inhibits the signaling of the interleukin-4 and interleukin-13 proteins, and is not an immunosuppressant. The FDA evaluated the Dupixent application under Priority Review, which is reserved for medicines that represent potentially significant improvements in efficacy or safety in treating serious conditions. The FDA approval is based on data that includes pivotal Phase 3 results on the efficacy and safety of Dupixent combined with topical corticosteroids compared to TCS alone in children with severe atopic dermatitis. In the trial, children treated with Dupixent and TCS experienced significant improvements in overall disease severity, skin clearance and itch.

11:12 EDT AerCap CEO says better aligning delivery schedule with needs of customers, OEMs - "On our first quarter earnings call, I noted the positive trends that we were starting to see in Chinese air traffic. Similarly, since the low point in mid-April we have seen a steady increase in air traffic in Europe and the United States. As economies begin to reopen, our airline customers will play a vital role in the recovery of their respective countries. We have taken these steps to better align our delivery schedule with the needs of our airline customers and our OEM partners during this period of market dislocation. We expect to reschedule additional aircraft deliveries in the future as we continue to work with our customers and the manufacturers," said Aengus Kelly, CEO of AerCap.

11:11 EDT Hemp, Inc. surpasses $1M in sales from hemp flower - Hemp, Inc. announced that sales to date from their hemp flower, Pre-98 OG Bubba Kush, have surpassed their $1,000,000 groundbreaking milestone. The Company has reached $1,035,817.04. That's a total of $1,035,817.04 over the past ten weeks and six days.

10:56 EDT Batman Research's Edwin Dorsey sees 'significant red flags' at OneSmart - Batman Research's Edwin Dorsey said in his newsletter "The Bear Cave" that, "OneSmart International Group (NYSE: ONE - $428 million) is a Chinese online education and daycare company that appears to have significant red flags unnoticed by the market... In addition to missing internal control certifications, OneSmart disclosed in June 2019 that its CFO had departed... The SEC had also raised questions about the company before its NYSE listing. In a March 2018 letter the company responded to an SEC question trying to reconcile revenue and enrollment growth."Reference Link

10:15 EDT Eli Lilly, Junshi to file IND for trials of COVID-19 antibodies - Junshi Biosciences announced the publication of research results from the company's efforts to generate therapeutic COVID-19 neutralizing antibodies. The paper, titled "A human neutralizing MAb targeting the receptor binding site of SARS-CoV-2", was published today in the journal Nature. Junshi and partner Eli Lilly intend to file an IND and initiate clinical trials in the U.S. and China in the second quarter of 2020, Eli Lilly announced. "Lilly is proud to have partnered with Junshi Biosciences to develop CB6 as a potential treatment for COVID-19. The fact that CB6 can protect rhesus monkeys from COVID-19 infection suggests a potential for prophylactic use in humans," said Daniel Skovronsky, M.D., Ph.D., Lilly's chief scientific officer and president of Lilly Research Laboratories. "We are moving as quickly as possible to test such a protective effect in patients at risk for COVID-19."

10:13 EDT Lilly says Junshi's COVID-19 antibodies demonstrated effects in monkey

10:03 EDT Hilton Grand Vacations introduces Enhanced Care Guidelines - Hilton Grand Vacations introduces its Enhanced Care Guidelines, designed to provide owners, guests and team members with the highest level of cleaning protocols and safety standards in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rolling out across all HGV branded resorts and sales galleries, the Enhanced Care Guidelines incorporates the Hilton CleanStay to include best practices and protocols as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and cleaning solutions approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. The Enhanced Care Guidelines include: Low-touch arrivals and departures with helpful social distancing signage, all front desk stations will have protective partitions. In addition, bell staff and valet attendants will wear gloves and face coverings wherever possible. Furthermore, HGV will provide complimentary face coverings for all guests and hand sanitizer stations will be strategically located throughout the property. Frequent and thorough cleaning of all high-traffic public spaces, including lobbies, front desks, elevator landings and sales galleries. HGV room seal will be placed on guestroom entry doors to indicate the room has not been accessed since it was thoroughly cleaned, adding an extra measure of assurance. Extra disinfection in high-touch areas using EPA-approved COVID-19 cleaning solutions, including light switches, door handles, phones, TV remotes, thermostats, bed and bedding, bathrooms, safes, kitchen housewares and surfaces. Reduction of paper items, including guest directories, magazines and printed promotional items supplemented with digital options to limit guest exposure. Social distancing practices implemented throughout our properties, including signage directing guests and our team members to keep a safe distance. Pool decks and fitness centers will have capacity limitations to ensure proper social distancing and will also receive frequent and thorough cleaning. New technologies will be evaluated and considered to further improve HGV's Enhanced Care Guidelines. HGV team members will receive personal protective equipment and enhanced training to help protect everyone's well-being while continuing to deliver unmatched HGV hospitality. HGV is welcoming back owners and guests at many resort locations where operations were temporarily suspended due to COVID-19. While in suspension, essential resort personnel worked diligently maintaining the resorts for a safe re-opening. Annual deep cleanings, typically scheduled during slower seasons, were moved up and completed, allowing the resorts to be in top shape when owners and guests arrive.

10:00 EDT Small Cap Bear 3x falls -11.9% - Small Cap Bear 3x is down -11.9%, or -$3.37 to $24.97.

10:00 EDT Sabesp rises 18.2% - Sabesp is up 18.2%, or $1.43 to $9.24.

10:00 EDT Tupperware Brands rises 19.8% - Tupperware Brands is up 19.8%, or 60c to $3.63.

09:47 EDT Debt Resolve falls -12.1% - Debt Resolve is down -12.1%, or -$2.66 to $19.25.

09:47 EDT FGL Holdings falls -14.1% - FGL Holdings is down -14.1%, or -$1.49 to $9.08.

09:47 EDT Fly Leasing rises 14.6% - Fly Leasing is up 14.6%, or 90c to $7.07.

09:45 EDT Ovid Therapeutics trading resumes

09:40 EDT Starboard seeks votes for GCP board slate in letter to holders - Starboard Value LP delivered an open letter to GCP Applied Technologies shareholders in connection with the company's upcoming annual meeting. The letter reads in part, "As we have previously highlighted, we believe there is a tremendous opportunity to drive operational, strategic, and financial improvements at GCP that will position it to be best-in-class in its industry. In order to achieve this goal, we have nominated a highly qualified slate of director nominees with diverse and relevant experience...With the right Board in place, we truly believe that GCP has the ability to become an industry leader by leveraging its best-in-class assets and executing on a well-thought out and articulated turnaround plan. We look forward to moving past this election contest and working constructively with members of management and the Board to effect positive change at GCP on behalf of all shareholders."

09:30 EDT Texas Capital trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:27 EDT Merit Medical receives CE Mark for Wrapsody Endovascular Stent Graft System - Merit Medical Systems announced that it received the CE mark for the WRAPSODY Endovascular Stent Graft System from the British Standards Institution. The WRAPSODY system is a flexible self-expanding endoprosthesis indicated for use in hemodialysis patients for the treatment of stenosis or occlusion within central veins as well as the dialysis outflow circuit of an arteriovenous fistula or AV graft. Merit has worked for almost eight years to design, develop and establish the appropriate technology and manufacturing capabilities for this product. Merit recently completed enrollment and primary follow-up of its WRAPSODY FIRST study which included 46 patients in Europe. Merit submitted an IDE application to the FDA for its review and consideration prior to the initiation of its WAVE Pivotal Study. After completion of the WAVE pivotal study, Merit intends to submit a PMA application to the FDA.Merit intends to offer additional products utilizing this technology platform, subject to additional submissions and review by the FDA and the European Union notified body. Recently Merit received three Breakthrough Device Designations covering indications and cohorts of the IDE for the WRAPSODY system which have been filed with the FDA. Merit intends to systematically introduce the WRAPSODY system in Europe as procedures are resumed following the ongoing lockdown due to COVID-19. Additionally, Merit also plans to initiate registration activities associated with the system in Australia, Canada and certain countries in Latin America. The WRAPSODY system is complementary to other products that Merit produces or distributes, such as the HeRO Graft, the Surfacer Inside-Out Access Catheter System and other vascular access products.

09:21 EDT Digirad Corp trading halted, news pending

09:14 EDT 180 Degree Capital closes sale of life science portfolio company - 180 Degree Capital announced that the sale of one of its privately held life science portfolio companies has closed, and that 180 has received its share of the upfront payment of $4.4M in cash. In addition, 180 received $305,000 in cash from its ownership in an entity affiliated with the acquired life science portfolio company. As noted in 180's initial press release, the terms of the acquisition are confidential. 180 notes, however, that in addition to the up-front payments already received, approximately $350,000 in additional proceeds is held in escrow for one year from the date of the closing. 180 is also eligible, through its ownership in the acquired company and the affiliated entity, to receive up to approximately $87M in potential future payments upon the achievement of undisclosed development and commercial milestones. 180 currently estimates that the first milestone payment could occur in 2-3 years, and subsequent milestone payments could occur at various points over the subsequent 10-15 years. The timing and likelihood of the acquirer achieving these milestones is highly uncertain, and if these milestones are achieved, the timing may be materially different than current estimates. These factors will be used to develop a fair market value based on a probability-weighted net present value analysis of the potential future milestone payments as of 180's next valuation date, which is June 30, 2020. Preliminary valuation work leads us currently to believe that the transaction could result in an increase in value of approximately 5x from our $2.2M value of this privately held life science portfolio company as of March 31, 2020. As of the close of the public markets on May 22, 2020, 180 had approximately $40M in cash and securities of publicly traded companies versus its $48 million market capitalization.

09:12 EDT Zoom Video appoints Velchamy Sankarlingam as president of product, engineering - Zoom Video Communications (ZM) announced that Velchamy Sankarlingam will join the company as the President of Engineering and Product, effective June 12. Sankarlingam comes to Zoom after more than nine years at VMware (VMW), where he was most recently Senior Vice President, Cloud Services Development and Operations. Reporting directly to Zoom CEO Eric S. Yuan, Sankarlingam will oversee the company's engineering, product, and dev ops teams. Zoom recently announced that it will expand its engineering team with up to 500 new headcount based in Phoenix, Arizona and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

09:10 EDT Kandi Technologies receives first real estate repurchase payment - Kandi Technologies Group announced that it received the first payment of $34.2 million on May 22nd, 2020 under the real estate repurchase agreement announced on March 9th, 2020. Under the agreement, Kandi is entitled to receive additional payments based on achieving certain milestones: A second payment of $16.7 million is due within 10 days of "restoration" of the land. "Restoration" is defined as full legal cancellation of the land use rights; transfer of the ownership rights to the factory buildings and other fixtures on the land; and the return of undeveloped parcels. A final payment of $22.7 million will be due within 10 days of "return" of the land. "Return" is defined as completely vacating the land, factory buildings, and real estate and returning the factory and other real property to the Jinhua Economic and Technological Development Zone.

09:09 EDT Wrap Technologies reports Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office deploying Bola Wrap - Wrap Technologies reported that officers at Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office in Alabama have been trained on BolaWrap and are now carrying the remote restraint device in the field.

09:08 EDT Stereotaxis announces $15M common stock financing - Stereotaxis announced that it has entered into a securities purchase agreement with certain funds managed by Consonance Capital Management, a prominent healthcare-focused institutional investor. Stereotaxis is issuing approximately 3.66 million shares of registered common stock at a purchase price of $4.10 per share, for gross and net proceeds of approximately $15 million. The purchase price reflects a 9% premium to Stereotaxis' 10-day volume-weighted average trading price.

09:06 EDT Rafael Pharmaceuticals to present phase 1 data on CPI-613 - Rafael Pharmaceuticals announced that the results of a single-arm, open-label, Phase 1 study of CPI-613 with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel in patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer, will be presented in a poster presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2020 Virtual Scientific Program. The results will be presented by Dr. Angela Tatiana Alistar, M.D., Medical Director of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at Morristown Medical Center and principal investigator on the trial. The presentation titled, "Abstract #4635: A single-arm, open-label, Phase 1 study of CPI-613 in combination with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel for patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma," includes the results of a two-year Phase 1 study consisting of gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel in 26 patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer to determine maximum tolerated dose, safety, and preliminary efficacy of devimistat in combination with chemotherapy. Overall, the treatment was well-tolerated and demonstrated positive results that show devimistat can be safely administered with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel at doses up to 1,500 m/g2.

09:04 EDT Acadia to combine CLARITY-2, CLARITY-3 Phase 3 studies - ACADIA Pharmaceuticals announced that following positive feedback from the FDA, the company plans to combine its CLARITY-2 and CLARITY-3 Phase 3 studies evaluating pimavanserin for the adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder, or MDD, into one study with a pre-specified statistical analysis plan. The company said, "As a result, no new patients will be enrolled in the two identically designed Phase 3 studies, each of which will be concluded with slightly more than 50% enrollment. Top-line results from the combined study are expected in the third quarter of 2020. If positive, the results from the combined study, along with the positive results from the previously announced pivotal CLARITY study, would form the basis for a supplemental new drug application for pimavanserin in the adjunctive treatment of MDD."

09:03 EDT Wins Finance receives delisting determination letter from Nasdaq - Wins Finance Holdings announced that on May 22 the Company received a delisting determination letter from the staff of the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market. The Determination Letter notified the Company that since it had not filed its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 by May 13, the deadline by which the Company was to file the 2019 20-F in order to regain compliance with Listing Rule 5250, the Company's common stock is subject to delisting from The Nasdaq Capital Market. The Determination Letter further noted that unless the Company requested an appeal of the Staff's determination no later than 4:00 pm Eastern Time on May 29, trading of the Company's common stock on The Nasdaq Capital Market will be suspended at the opening of business on June 2, and a Form 25-NSE would be filed with the SEC removing the Company's securities from listing and registration on The Nasdaq Stock Market.

09:02 EDT Remark Holdings regains compliance with Nasdaq listing standards - Remark Holdings announced that it has received notification from Nasdaq that the company has regained compliance with Nasdaq's minimum bid price and stockholders' equity rules and met the requirements of the Nasdaq Hearing Panel decision which requires that the company evidence compliance with all applicable criteria for continued listing. Accordingly, the company's common stock will continue to be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market and Nasdaq considers the matter closed.

08:49 EDT Phunware executes agreement with Humm Systems - Phunware announced an executed agreement with Humm Systems. The company said, "Humm Systems' direct integration with Phunware's Multiscreen-as-a-Service, or MaaS, platform will allow the company's customers to take advantage of live feedback, alerts, reports, dashboards and other anytime metrics. Particularly helpful to Phunware's customers are live alerts that drive real-time intervention, allowing enhanced flexibility and adaptation for mobile interactions based on the quality of experience, product or staff performance."

08:46 EDT Diana Shipping announces time charter contract for m/v Crystalia - Diana Shipping announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with Glencore Agriculture B.V., Rotterdam, for one of its Ice Class Panamax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Crystalia. The gross charter rate is $8,750 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period until minimum July 1, 2021 up to maximum September 30, 2021. The charter commenced on May 22, 2020. The "Crystalia" is a 77,525 dwt Ice Class Panamax dry bulk vessel built in 2014. This employment is anticipated to generate approximately $3.49 million of gross revenue for the minimum scheduled period of the time charter.

08:44 EDT Waitr Holdings announces partnership with Five Guys - Waitr Holdingsannounced a new partnership with Five Guys. Effective immediately, customers using the Waitr app can order their favorite foods from more than 150 Five Guys locations around the nation.

08:43 EDT RenovaCare appoints Robin Robinson to CSO - RenovaCare announced that its Vice President, Scientific Affairs, Dr. Robin Robinson will now serve in a new and expanded full-time role as the company's Chief Scientific Officer. Prior to joining RenovaCare, Dr. Robinson served as founding Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority that leads development and stockpiling of medical countermeasures for national preparedness and response to man-made threats, pandemic influenza, and emerging infectious agents. Dr. Robinson joins the executive management team and is responsible for setting the scientific strategy and priorities and leading R&D at RenovaCare. He will also interface with the intellectual property group for new products innovation and development, and with the Company's regulatory teams to advance its FDA submission pathway. Dr. Robinson will additionally Chair the RenovaCare Scientific Advisory Board.

08:41 EDT Delcath Systems appoints John Purpura as interim CEO - Delcath Systems announced that the Board of Directors appointed John Purpura as interim Chief Executive Officer. Jennifer Simpson, President & CEO and Barbra Keck, CFO resigned from the Company effective June 1, 2020. The Board of Directors has launched an executive search process to identify a permanent CEO and CFO to strategically lead the company through FDA approval and commercialization.

08:39 EDT Aeglea BioTherapeutics announces one-year data for pegzilarginase - Aeglea BioTherapeutics announced a new 56 week analysis on Arginase 1 Deficiency patients who have been treated with pegzilarginase from the Company's completed Phase 1/2 clinical trial and the ongoing Phase 2 open-label extension study. The data were shared yesterday in a virtual, late-breaking oral presentation at the 6th Congress of the European Academy of Neurology. The presentation, titled "1 Year Data from First in Human Study of Pegzilarginase for the Treatment of Arginase 1 Deficiency," includes data on 13 patients treated with pegzilarginase who completed the 56 week treatment period. Highlights from the 56 week analysis include: A statistically significant reduction in plasma arginine from baseline was observed with a single dose, with continued improvement through the 20 and 56 week analyses. All 13 patients achieved plasma arginine levels within the target range. The median plasma arginine level was 99microM. Eleven patients overall were clinical Responders. Mobility improvements were evaluated using three assessments: 6MWT, GMFM, Part D and Part E. Mean change in 6MWT showed progressive improvement from baseline through 8, 20 and 56 week analyses. All six patients with significant mobility impairment at baseline improved in the GMFM Part E; four out of six patients also improved in the GMFM Part D. Pegzilarginase was shown to have a favorable safety profile with more than 750 doses administered. Safety profile is consistent with previously reported data. The most common treatment-related serious adverse events were hypersensitivity and hyperammonemia, both of which were infrequent, expected and managed with standard care; no treatment-related serious adverse events led to patient discontinuation. Most treatment-related adverse events were mild and decreased in frequency over time.

08:36 EDT Durect announces results from Phase 1b clinical study of DUR-928 - DURECT announced positive topline results from its Phase 1b clinical study of orally administered DUR-928 in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, NASH, patients. A total of 65 patients completed the study, in which DUR-928 was orally administered daily for 4 weeks at 50 mg, 150 mg, or 600 mg. Both the 50 mg and 600 mg dose groups showed a statistically significant median reduction at day 28 from baseline of serum alanine aminotransferase, or ALT, levels at -16% and -17%, respectively. The 600 mg dose group also showed statistically significant median reductions at day 28 from baseline of serum aspartate aminotransferase and gamma-glutamyl transferase, and the 50 mg dose group had a statistically significant reduction at day 28 from baseline in liver stiffness as measured by Fibroscan.

08:33 EDT Auris Medical announces data from AM-201 Phase 1b study - Auris Medical Holding announced positive top-line data from its Phase 1b trial with AM-201 in antipsychotic-induced weight gain and provided an update on the enrollment into its Phase 2 trial with AM-125 in vertigo. The Phase 1b trial demonstrated good safety and tolerability of ascending doses of AM-201 as well as a dose-dependent reduction in weight gain in healthy volunteers treated with oral olanzapine for four weeks. At the highest AM-201 dose of 30 mg administered three times daily, the mean weight gain from baseline to the end of the treatment period was 2.8 kg compared against 3.7 kg in control subjects; the primary efficacy endpoint of mean reduction in weight gain was 0.9 kg and statistically significant. As expected, intranasal delivery of betahistine allowed for substantially higher concentrations in blood plasma compared with levels previously reported for oral betahistine. Following completion of the data analysis, the Company intends to prepare a Phase 2 clinical trial and to disclose detailed results from the study in a scientific journal. In addition, the Company announced that the Phase 2 TRAVERS trial with AM-125 in acute peripheral vertigo has resumed enrollment. The COVID-19 outbreak had led to a standstill of recruitment towards the end of March 2020 as trial sites postponed elective surgeries, including those generating the type of acute vertigo required for study participation, and temporarily reduced or suspended clinical research activities. As the COVID-19 outbreak has started to subside in several European countries, a small number of trial sites have resumed recruitment in the past few weeks. Barring the reintroduction of COVID-19 related restrictions, the Company expects further sites to reopen in the coming weeks and the interim analysis following Part A of the trial to be completed in the third quarter of 2020.

08:32 EDT Arena Pharmaceuticals completes full enrollment in Phase 2 ADVISE trial - Arena Pharmaceuticals announced that it has completed full enrollment of the Phase 2b ADVISE trial evaluating etrasimod, an investigational next-generation, once-daily, oral, highly selective sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor modulator, for the potential treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. The trial enrolled 140 patients at study sites across the United States, Canada and Australia, with a primary efficacy endpoint of percent change in Eczema Area and Severity Index from baseline to week 12.

08:23 EDT Driver sends letter to First United Corp shareholders - Driver, one of the largest shareholders of First United Corp, announced that it reached an agreement with the Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation to resolve an inquiry pertaining to Driver's purchase of the company's common shares. To provide additional context, Driver issued an open letter to shareholders: "Driver is pleased to announce that the Maryland Commissioner has closed the investigation previously instigated by First United for the self-serving purposes of trying to invalidate both our nomination of director candidates and voting rights-with no finding we violated any Maryland law. It is unfortunate that this inquiry not only wasted shareholders' resources, but also the Maryland Commissioner's resources during a time in which they could have applied to initiatives pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic and its repercussions. As the irrefutable e-mail evidence available at www.RenovateMyBank.com shows, First United spent months lobbying the Maryland Commissioner as part of an unsuccessful attempt to disenfranchise Driver and other shareholders. Fiduciary duty dictates that the Board of Directors (the "Board") should immediately investigate this egregious misuse of shareholders' resources and hold the responsible parties to account. In addition, federal securities law suggests that First United should promptly correct all of the false and misleading statements it has made in proxy solicitation materials regarding this sorry episode. Shareholders in receipt of communications and letters from First United can easily see that the Company repeatedly lied about its role in prompting and seeking to direct regulators to penalize Driver. Given that the Maryland Commissioner's investigation has closed with no finding that Driver violated any law, we are urging First United to immediately drop the baseless lawsuit it filed last week against us in yet another desperate attempt to take away our rights. We have also reminded First United of the penalties under Maryland law for maintaining a legal proceeding in bad faith and without substantial justification. First United's reprehensible conduct throughout this election contest is an affront to the most basic tenets of corporate democracy and shareholder rights. While we do not expect or seek an apology from First United, we know that our fellow shareholders certainly deserve an explanation as to why the Board wasted money, time and resources on a campaign that it continues to lie about. We believe that falling prey to First United's lies and voting on the BLUE Proxy Card for the highly-questionable incumbent directors will amount to an endorsement of the Board's anti-shareholder actions and behavior-which is unmatched anywhere in Corporate America. Fortunately, Driver has nominated three exceptional and independent director candidates who will bring new perspectives to the Board. Each of our nominees is willing to work constructively and collaboratively with the legacy directors to preserve and increase shareholder value. We urge shareholders to vote on the WHITE Proxy Card to elect our full slate and help put in place a Board that can help First United finally treat shareholders with the respect they are owed."

08:19 EDT GTT Communications promotes Ernie Ortega to chief revenue officer - GTT announced that Ernie Ortega has been promoted to chief revenue officer "to lead the company's worldwide revenue growth initiatives." Mr. Ortega joined GTT in June 2019 as division president, Americas.

08:18 EDT GTT Communications announces departure of CEO - GTT Communications announced that Richard Calder, Jr., GTT president and CEO, will depart the company effective on June 1. The company said, "In order to ensure continuity going forward, H. Brian Thompson, Nick Adamo, and Benjamin Stein, members of the GTT board, will provide additional guidance and support to the Company's senior executive team on an interim basis while the Company conducts an executive search for a new CEO. A leadership group made up of several top executives has been formed consisting of CFO Steven Berns, chief revenue officer Ernie Ortega, general counsel Chris McKee and senior vice president of operations and engineering Bob Burris. Berns and Ortega will co-lead the group."

08:17 EDT Citius provides free access to Mino-Lok for healthcare providers - Citius Pharmaceuticals announced that it is providing free access to Mino-Lok for healthcare providers under an Expanded Access protocol to ease the burden associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the Expanded Access protocol, an infected central venous catheter can now be treated with Citius' Mino-Lok, potentially avoiding the need for the removal and replacement procedure. Given the challenges at today's hospitals, the patients, the hospital staff, and the hospital system at large stand to benefit greatly from free access to the Mino-Lok solution. Mino-Lok is an antibiotic lock solution used to treat patients with catheter-related bloodstream infections in combination with an appropriate systemic antibiotic to preserve central venous access and to avoid the complications and morbidities associated with catheter removal and reinsertion. Mino-Lok is currently in a Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of central line-associated bloodstream infections.

08:15 EDT AnPac Bio announces patent titled 'Apparatus for Improved Disease Detection' - AnPac Bio-Medical Science announced that another new US patent titled "Apparatus for Improved Disease Detection" was granted to the Company by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on May 20, 2020, which is the second AnPac Bio patent granted this month, and the third in 2020. The new patent covers novel medical device structures, methods, and biophysical related test parameters for improved detection performance. The newly granted patent this week brings the total number of issued and granted AnPac Bio patents to nineteen in the United States.

08:12 EDT Privet, UPG send letter to Synalloy stockholders regarding board nominees - Privet and UPG Enterprises, which collectively own approximately 24.9% of the outstanding common stock of Synalloy, announced that they have mailed a letter to stockholders in connection with their nomination of five independent candidates for election to the company's eight-member board at the 2020 annual meeting of stockholders scheduled to be held on June 30. The stockholder group said, "The letter exposes and addresses the many falsehoods and misrepresentations included in Synalloy's recent communications to stockholders." Ben Rosenzweig, partner at Privet, and Chris Hutter, co-Founder at UPG, commented: "This year's Annual Meeting is far too important to the future of Synalloy and its stockholders to be undermined by misinformation. Unfortunately, the Board appears to be wasting an incredible amount of corporate resources on a self-serving campaign to spread patently false information and promote delusions of a supposedly 'proven plan' that nobody ever heard of prior to last week. The only thing more absurd than the incumbent directors' lack of familiarity with UPG and its status as an industry leader is the idea that management has been advancing a strategic plan. The reality is the sum total of Synalloy leadership's past record has resulted in chronic underperformance, deteriorating margins and rising debt. Stockholders no doubt recognize that the Board is contradicting itself by asking them to believe it has a 'proven plan' when Synalloy only recently announced its intent to pursue a future, hypothetical sale against the backdrop of the worst M&A market in decades. We are confident that stockholders will see through Synalloy's smoke and mirrors. That is why our letter draws on just the facts to expose Synalloy's revisionist history and refute its recent effort to miscast the Stockholder Group, our nominees and their value-enhancing plan."

08:10 EDT Lightbridge receives Australian patent for nuclear feul assemblies - Lightbridge Corporation announced that it has received a patent from the Australian Patent Office for its innovative nuclear fuel assemblies. This is a divisional patent of the 2014 PCT application and covers an alternative embodiment for an all-metal fuel assembly design incorporating Lightbridge-designed four-lobe helically twisted fuel rods for use in pressurized water reactors. Lightbridge is developing its advanced metallic fuel designed to make both existing and new nuclear power plants more efficient, more cost competitive, and even safer.

08:08 EDT Celanese files anti-dumping petition with European Commission against KPIC - Celanese announced it has filed a petition with the European Commission's Directorate-General For Trade seeking anti-dumping duties on imports of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, or UHMWPE, from Korea Petrochemical, or KPIC, of Seoul, South Korea, into the European Union. "After successfully filing an anti-dumping case in the U.S., which the U.S. authorities voted unanimously to continue an investigation into, and in order to further ensure Celanese is able to operate in fair and sustainable industry conditions globally, we were compelled to also file an anti-dumping case against KPIC in Europe to address their destructive pricing practices in that region which have caused Celanese's UHMWPE business to suffer significantly over the last several years since KPIC began selling in the region," said Tom Kelly, Senior Vice President of the Engineered Materials business of Celanese. "Fair and sustainable pricing on a global basis is important for the health of every industry, and in the long term, this will lead to increased supply availability in the marketplace and to broader choices for our customers; and therefore, we believe it is our obligation to address these inequities through actions such as anti-dumping duties when they arise."

08:08 EDT Meridian to supply reagents for manufacturing of COVID-19 antibody tests - Meridian Bioscience announced that its SARS-CoV-2 antigens and related reagents are part of assays granted U.S. Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization, with projected production schedules of tens of millions of COVID-19 antibody tests per month. Since the beginning of this public health emergency in January, Meridian has supported over 35 molecular diagnostic companies with critical master mixes and enzymes, enabling over 30 million COVID-19 molecular diagnostic tests. In April, Meridian began offering SARS-CoV-2 recombinant antigens to meet the growing need for antibody testing. Like Meridian's molecular offerings, this immunological product line was quickly acknowledged for its ability to deliver high sensitivity and specificity assays. This level of quality, coupled with Meridian's reliability of production and customer service, has led to high demand. Widespread COVID-19 testing, both molecular and antibody, is essential to front-line healthcare workers delivering care, researchers understanding the spread of infection, and scientists developing vaccines and therapies.

08:06 EDT DATATRAK International partners with Renibus Therapuetics for COVID-19 trial - Datatrak International announces a new partnership with Renibus Therapeutics, Inc. for their COVID-19 clinical trial. Renibus Therapeutics, Inc., headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is targeting unmet medical needs. Renibus is actively developing drugs intended for the prevention of acute kidney injury and the treatment of chronic kidney disease. Renibus has been fast tracked by the FDA to begin a Phase 2 study to evaluate the effects of their drug, RBT-9 in COVID-19 patients who are at high-risk of deteriorating health due to age or comorbid conditions such as kidney or cardiovascular disease. During these unprecedented times, Datatrak's team has continued to stay innovative and provide their products with limited restrictions. In March, Datatrak announced that they were waiving the Datatrak Enterprise Cloud EDC software license fees for COVID-19 studies. The goal of this promotion is to help expedite trials and improve clinical collaboration in a comprehensive solution for quick study startups and ease of data collection, to submission. Due to the pressing need for research to begin quickly, companies like Renibus have taken advantage of Datatrak's offering, ensuring clinical trials can start as soon as possible. Datatrak's Enterprise Cloud Platform enables clients to capture quality data while using its Files Manager to manage regulatory documents to reduce cost and maintain a unified approach with control and centralized access to critical study information. Clients may also implement remote monitoring in Datatrak, which so many COVID-19 studies need due to current challenges associated with onsite visits for monitoring.

08:04 EDT Asia-Africa-Europe-1 Consortium deploys Infinera to boost capacity - Infinera announced that Asia-Africa-Europe-1 Consortium has recently completed a significant upgrade with Infinera to boost capacity on its subsea network connecting East Asia to Europe via Egypt. AAE-1 has proved to be vital infrastructure in the Eurasia corridor, and even more so recently, providing connectivity, diversity, and resilience between European, Asian, and Middle Eastern markets. Based on Infinera's industry-leading fourth-generation Infinite Capacity Engine technology and Instant Bandwidth capability, the Infinera solution enabled AAE-1 to double the capacity on its intercontinental network while reducing total cost of ownership and increasing service agility and network reliability. AAE-1's cable system spans 25,000 kilometers of subsea and terrestrial network. Unlike any other cable system in the world, AAE-1 terminates at two points of presence in Singapore and is the only next-generation cable that continues further into Asia through diverse terrestrial routes across Thailand, providing connectivity to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Hong Kong. This unique routing enables AAE-1 to deliver one of the lowest-latency routes between Hong Kong, India, the Middle East, and Europe.

08:04 EDT ResMed subsidiary receives 510 clearance from FDA for digital health platform - Propeller Health, a wholly owned subsidiary of ResMed, announced it has received 510 clearance from the FDA to connect patients using the Symbicort Inhaler to its digital health platform. Propeller's platform already connects to the majority of inhalers used by asthma and COPD patients, as well as many generic equivalent inhalers.

08:03 EDT Eli Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim to collaborate with DCRI on Jardiance trial - Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company announced an academic research collaboration with the Duke Clinical Research Institute on a new trial, EMPACT-MI. The collaboration will investigate whether Jardiance can improve outcomes and prevent heart failure in adults with and without diabetes who have had an acute myocardial infarction, more commonly known as a heart attack. This randomized clinical trial will be conducted, analyzed and reported in partnership with the DCRI, with Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly providing funding. EMPACT-MI will include approximately 3,300 adults across at least 16 countries who have had an acute myocardial infarction. The primary endpoint of the trial is to assess the effect of Jardiance on all-cause mortality and hospitalization for heart failure. The trial will be part of the EMPOWER program, the broadest and most comprehensive clinical trial program exploring the impact of Jardiance on the lives of people with cardio-renal-metabolic conditions.

08:02 EDT Diffusion receives accelerated FDA response to TSC COVID-19 program - Diffusion Pharmaceuticals announces it has received an accelerated response from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to the Company's Pre-Investigational New Drug meeting request. The PIND was filed on April 27, seeking FDA guidance on the Company's proposed clinical development program for the use of trans sodium crocetinate in COVID-19 patients displaying severe respiratory symptoms and low oxygen levels. The FDA's accelerated response to the PIND meeting request recommended that the first U.S. TSC COVID-19 study employ a double-blinded, controlled, randomized clinical trial design to address the wide variability in standard of care due to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 experience. The FDA also recommended incorporating, where available, the drug remdesivir, which has been newly approved for emergency use, into TSC clinical trials as a component of standard of care for patients hospitalized with severe disease. The FDA agreed with the safety and oxygenation marker endpoints proposed by the Company for early trials of TSC in COVID-19 patients and suggested a range of potential functional outcomes which might be used as primary endpoints in possible later-stage trials supporting product approval. Patients with COVID-19 respiratory tract infections often present with significantly impaired oxygen levels. Diffusion and its affiliated researchers believe the oxygen-enhancing mechanism of action of TSC could benefit such patients. Preclinical data indicate TSC increases oxygen availability and provides a functional benefit in animal models of acute lung injury and hemorrhagic shock. Clinical data from over 150 patients receiving TSC for other indications demonstrate that the drug has an acceptable human safety profile in both healthy and critically ill patients.

07:50 EDT CIM Commercial Trust responds to letter from Engine Capital - CIM Commercial Trust announced that Richard Ressler, chairman of the board of CIM Commercial Trust, has sent the following letter to Engine Capital. "...With respect to the other issues and concerns raised in your letter, please review the comments below as they make clear that the Company agrees they are important issues that had already been identified and addressed through actions taken-and that will continue to be taken-to deal with each of them: At-the-Market Program. To date, the Company has sold zero shares under the ATM program. As previously communicated to you (as indicated by your letter) and disclosed in the Company's public filings, the Company does not intend to use the program to sell shares of common stock at current price levels. Having an At-the-Market common stock offering program in place is not the same as using the program to sell shares. Having the program in place allows the Company to act quickly if and when the combination of share price and intended use of proceeds leads the Board to determine that a sale of shares is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. Fees Paid in Common Stock. As the Company disclosed in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the first quarter of 2020 filed on May 11, if the Company intends to pay CIM with shares in lieu of cash going forward, it would do so with the Company's preferred stock instead of common stock. With respect to the first quarter payment of CIM's fees in shares of common stock in lieu of cash, please take note of the circumstances. In the best interest of the Company, as the COVID-19 pandemic threatened the financial strength of companies throughout the world, CIM Group agreed to accept its first quarter management fees in shares of common stock in lieu of cash to ensure that CMCT remained in compliance with the fixed charge coverage ratio included in the terms of the Series L Preferred Stock as well as to maximize liquidity during a time period of significant uncertainty caused by COVID-19. As a point of reference, CIM received payment with shares valued at $11.60, a 10.90% premium to Friday's closing price of $10.46. Costs. Management of the Company as well as CIM Group have been actively reviewing the overhead and other costs of the Company. CMCT is still experiencing the aftermath of costs associated with being a much larger company. During 2019, CMCT rapidly sold off many of its real estate holdings and CIM has been working to reduce the expenses of running CMCT. As an example, the Company disclosed in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the first quarter of 2020 filed on May 11 that an affiliate of CIM Group agreed to permanently eliminate its base services fee, which amounted to approximately $1.1 million annually (subject to inflation), and replace it with an incentive fee with a hurdle rate. The incentive fee hurdle for the first quarter of 2020 would have required CMCT to achieve a Core FFO per share of $0.23 for such quarter before any incentive payments could be earned. For reference, Core FFO per share for the quarter was negative. Based on the expected performance of the Company for the rest of 2020, as previously disclosed, an incentive fee is unlikely to be earned in 2020 and, at this point, without substantial earnings improvements beyond those currently contemplated, it is unlikely that any incentive fee will be earned in 2021. Additionally, CMCT expects various cost reduction programs implemented by the Company and CIM will further reduce costs at the Company over the balance of this year. ISS Recommendation. We respect ISS's position. At the same time, however, ISS's rating system on executive compensation is not designed to evaluate the external management structure under which the Company operates. For example, CMCT is not directly responsible for bearing any of the compensation of its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. CIM Group pays for such compensation. CMCT CEO. As with any externally managed entity, the Company benefits from the role played by its executive officers (including, in our case, David Thompson as CEO) within the external manager and other vehicles operated by the external manager. In the case of the Company, David's involvement in the real estate equity and debt markets enhances the perspective he brings as CEO. David is a talented executive with decades of experience in the real estate industry and will devote as much time as is necessary to manage the affairs of the Company. As the largest shareholder of the Company, the interests of CIM, as operator, and CMCT are obviously strongly aligned. Management, CIM Group, and the Board intend to continue to build shareholder value by increasing NAV and distributable cash flow through operating improvements, deploying capital in high-return projects and taking advantage of dislocation in the current market. We expect these efforts, for the benefit of all shareholders, will be appreciated by current and potential shareholders and the value of CMCT shares will reflect the intrinsic value of those shares and contribute to increasing shareholder value. Committing to liquidating assets of the Company at a time of tremendous market dislocation and uncertainty will create the opposite result. Despite the many conversations between Engine and CMCT over the last 6 months, we haven't had the opportunity to address all of your points in a comprehensive manner until now. We hope this response provides additional detail and clarity about the actions undertaken, and in process, regarding each issue in your letter. As we have mentioned in our conversations, we welcome input from you and our other shareholders as we continue our focus on building shareholder value that benefits all of our shareholders."

07:47 EDT Macy's had approx. 270 stores open to the public as of May 22

07:46 EDT Macy's had cash, equivalents of over $1.5B as of May 22

07:45 EDT Macy's has begun to reopen stores gradually on a limited basis - In a regulatory filing, Macy's said that "With the lifting of restrictions across the United States, we have begun to reopen our stores gradually on a limited basis, starting with the reopening of 68 stores on May 4, 2020. In the stores we have reopened, we have seen greater demand than we expected, with demand averaging approximately 50% compared to 2019 levels. While we continue to work through our excess inventory, we expect that gross margins in fiscal 2020 relative to the prior fiscal year will be lowest in the second quarter, with sequential improvement going forward. While our digital business remained open during this period and online demand has been resilient and is expected to be a driver of growth going forward, we have lost the substantial majority of our sales due to the store closures. Because the COVID-19 situation is ongoing and because the duration and severity of the pandemic and its negative impact on the U.S. and global economies are unclear, it is difficult to forecast any impacts it will have on our future results. We currently expect that the COVID-19 outbreak will impact our financial performance for the 13 week period ending August 1, 2020 more significantly than it impacted the 13 week period ended May 2, 2020. With the spread of COVID-19 throughout the United States, we expect the outbreak and its effects to continue to have a significant adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations for the duration of the pandemic and, if the subsequent economic recovery is slow and gradual, throughout substantial portions of that recovery. The longer our stores remain closed to the public or are only able to open on a limited basis, the greater impact it will have on our results of operations and financial condition, and if most of our physical locations remain closed to customers for an extended period of time, our financial situation could become distressed."

07:38 EDT Benefitfocus announces $80M investment by BuildGroup - Benefitfocus announced an $80M investment from BuildGroup LLC, subject to customary closing conditions. BuildGroup agreed to invest $80M in Benefitfocus Series A convertible preferred stock to bolster Benefitfocus' mission and development. The preferred stock carries an 8% dividend payable in cash or in kind at the option of the Company, and a conversion price of $15, which is approximately a 50% premium to the 10-day volume weighted average share price. On an as-converted basis, the investment represents approximately 13% of the Company's total shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis. In connection with the closing of the investment, BuildGroup may appoint two directors to the Company's Board of Directors, one of whom will be Lanham Napier and the other of whom will be reasonably acceptable to Mason Holland, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of the Board. Mr. Napier will also serve as the lead Independent Director on the Board.

07:35 EDT Anaplan sees Q2 revenue $103M-$104M, consensus $110.24M - Sees Q2 non-GAAP operating margin (16%)-(15%). Sees Q2 billings $98M-$100M.

07:32 EDT Resonant fabricated 5G XBAR Filters at fourth foundry - Resonant provided an update on the progress it is making with its partner, Teledyne Scientific & Imaging, in further validating the power of Resonant's Infinite Synthesized Networks software platform by developing wide bandwidth, high frequency XBAR filters with its fourth foundry for devices targeted at non-mobile applications. These all-acoustic XBAR filters fabricated by Teledyne Scientific are predicted to exhibit the best-in-class wide bandwidth and low insertion loss performance required for the worlds cutting edge 5G applications, without the need for lossy bandwidth-enhancing techniques, such as IPDs.

07:28 EDT Green Thumb Industries to open Rise Niles store in Illinois - Green Thumb Industries announced the expansion of its retail footprint in Illinois with the opening of Rise Niles, the company's eighth store in Illinois and 45th in the nation, on May 28. This is the third adult-use only store Green Thumb has opened in Illinois this year. The company has opened a total of six stores across the country year-to-date. Green Thumb's retail footprint in Illinois includes seven additional locations across the state: Rise Canton, Rise Effingham, Rise Joliet, Rise Mundelein, Rise Quincy, 3C Joliet and 3C Naperville. All but 3C Naperville offer adult-use sales. The company also has manufacturing facilities in Rock Island and Oglesby where it produces its high-quality branded products including Dogwalkers, incredibles, Rythm and The Feel Collection. Rise Niles will currently offer online pre-ordering for adults 21 and older. Orders may be made at www.risecannabis.com. Rise Niles is located at 9621 N. Milwaukee Avenue in Niles and will be open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

07:24 EDT Sprott announces share consolidation, application to list on NYSE - Sprott announced that it has filed a Registration Statement on Form 40-F with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and submitted a listing application with the New York Stock Exchange. The Registration Statement and Listing Application will allow Sprott to pursue a dual listing of its common shares on the NYSE to complement its current listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange. In connection with the proposed listing on the NYSE, and as previously authorized by its shareholders, the Company, following a determination by its Board of Directors, has filed articles of amendment implementing a consolidation of its outstanding common shares on the basis of one post-consolidation common share for every ten pre-consolidation common shares. The Company's common shares are expected to commence trading on the TSX on a post-consolidation basis beginning at the open of markets on or about May 28, 2020. The Company currently anticipates that, subject to the receipt of all required approvals, its common shares will commence trading on the NYSE prior to the end of the second quarter under the symbol "SII". The consolidation has reduced the number of issued and outstanding common shares from 253,556,869 to 25,355,686. The Registration Statement has not yet become effective. Any listing of Sprott's common shares on the NYSE will be subject to the SEC declaring the Registration Statement effective and to Sprott attaining the approval of the NYSE. The Company cannot provide any assurance that it will be successful in achieving a listing of its common shares on the NYSE. Registered shareholders of the Company have been mailed a letter of transmittal by the Company's transfer agent, TSX Trust Company. The letter of transmittal is used by registered shareholders to exchange their pre-consolidation share certificates for post-consolidation certificates. Until surrendered, each share certificate representing pre-consolidation common shares will represent the number of whole post consolidation common shares to which the holder is entitled as a result of the consolidation.

07:22 EDT GameStop urges shareholders to vote for director nominees - GameStop announced that it has filed a detailed investor presentation titled "Driving Value for All Stockholders". The company said, "Highlights from the presentation include: GameStop Possesses a Highly Qualified and Recently Refreshed Board and Management Team. GameStop's Board directly solicited stockholder feedback in its efforts to refresh the Board: when engaging with stockholders representing 87% of our outstanding shares as of April 20, 2020, including the Dissident Stockholders, the Board received encouragement for GameStop's Board refreshment, corporate strategy, capital allocation and corporate governance initiatives. Within the last two years, GameStop has added six new independent directors - including two directors added under a cooperation agreement with Hestia-Permit - and comprehensively enhanced the Company's corporate governance practices. On GameStop's newly refreshed Board, which features 9 out of 10 independent directors, 7 directors have joined in the last 19 months. The directors targeted by the Dissident Stockholders, Messrs. Thomas Kelly and Jerome L. Davis, have announced their intention to continue to serve as Board members to steward the transition of the new directors in direct response to stockholder feedback requesting an orderly transfer of institutional knowledge, before retiring in June 2021...The Right Team is Executing on "GameStop Reboot" and Delivering Returns. The Board undertook an extensive review of strategic alternatives and sold non-core assets prior to recruiting GameStop's highly qualified new management team, enabling GameStop to capitalize on its position as the industry-leading omni-channel gaming platform GameStop's Board and management team have implemented and begun to execute on "GameStop Reboot," the Company's progressive business transformation plan...The Dissident Stockholders' Nominees Add No Value to GameStop's Board. In contrast to GameStop's directors, who possess strong financial, operational, retail, video game, and omni-channel experience, among other relevant skills, the Dissident Stockholders have nominated two candidates who do not possess the qualifications necessary to complement GameStop's Board or execute the Company's ongoing transformation plan. Messrs. Kurtis Wolf and Paul Evans both lack public company management experience and necessary expertise in the retail, video game and omni-channel industries...As the presentation outlines in greater detail, GameStop currently benefits from a newly refreshed Board that possesses extensive industry-specific experience and relevant skillsets, with the majority of directors added since April 2019. Not only did this Board recruit a new management team, including CEO George Sherman, but it is actively overseeing the management's business transformation plan and strongly believes that continued execution of "GameStop Reboot" will drive substantial value for stockholders. Election of Hestia Capital and Permit Capital's poorly qualified nominees, by contrast, would remove two highly qualified and experienced directors from GameStop's thoroughly refreshed and capable Board who have agreed to serve one more year as GameStop's directors to oversee the smooth transition of the newer directors at the request of our stockholders, and impair the Company's ability to continue executing on GameStop's transformation plan and generate value for our stockholders."

07:18 EDT Izea says 'sales surge following COVID-19 dip' - IZEA Worldwide announced that it has established a new relationship with a Fortune 500 insurance company for influencer marketing services. The company has also expanded its relationships with a Fortune 100 food manufacturer and a leading multi-billion-dollar furniture goods manufacturer, among others. "The surge of customer wins in recent weeks is simply remarkable," said Ted Murphy, IZEA's Chairman and CEO. "Our sales team has delivered a parabolic rebound curve following the initial impacts from the pandemic. It has been an inspiring demonstration of the commitment and grit of our team and I am very proud of what we have just accomplished together. As of today, Q2 bookings for managed services in 2020 have already exceeded Q2 bookings for the same period in 2019, despite the loss of traction with some customers due to the pandemic. All of this, while working from home in the most challenging of business climates." On May 14th the company released a chart detailing the decline and subsequent path recovery of managed services bookings as part of its Q1 earnings press release. Given the magnitude of increased bookings in the past week, the company has provided an updated chart reflecting recent data. Future bookings may slow or be negatively impacted by cancellations.

07:16 EDT Alnylam announces FDA priority review of Lumasiran NDA - Alnylam Pharmaceuticals announced that the FDA has accepted the company's New Drug Application, or NDA, for lumasiran, an investigational RNAi therapeutic targeting hydroxyacid oxidase 1, or HAO1, - the gene encoding glycolate oxidase, or GO, - in development for the treatment of primary hyperoxaluria type 1, or PH1. The company said, "the FDA also granted Priority Review for the NDA, a designation for medicines that have the potential to provide significant improvements in the treatment, prevention or diagnosis of a serious disease, with the goal of FDA taking action within six months compared to 10 months under standard review. The FDA has set an action date of December 3, 2020 under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), and the Agency has indicated that they are not currently planning an advisory committee meeting as part of the NDA review. In addition, the Marketing Authorisation Application, or MAA, for lumasiran has been submitted to and validated by the European Medicines Agency. Lumasiran was previously granted an accelerated assessment by the EMA, which is awarded to medicines deemed to be of major public health interest and therapeutic innovation, and is designed to bring new treatments to patients more quickly. Accelerated assessment potentially reduces the Agency's evaluation time from 210 to 150 days. Lumasiran has also previously received Orphan Drug Designations for the treatment of PH1 in the U.S. and Europe and has received a Priority Medicines, or PRIME, designation from the EMA."

07:16 EDT Atara Biotherapeutics presents more safety, efficacy data from ATA188 study - Atara Biotherapeutics announced the presentation of additional safety and efficacy data from its ongoing Phase 1 study of ATA188 for the treatment of progressive forms of multiple sclerosis, or MS. ATA188 is an allogeneic EBV-specific T-cell immunotherapy. These data demonstrate that ATA188 was well-tolerated across all four dose cohorts; there was a higher proportion of patients showing sustained disability improvements with increasing dose, and sustained disability improvements seen at six months were maintained at 12 months in all three cohorts that have reached the 12-month time point in the study. The results are featured in a late-breaking e-poster at the European Academy of Neurology, or EAN, virtual meeting. Though the development of MS likely requires more than a single causative factor, EBV is the only risk factor identified to date that appears to be necessary for MS. Evidence demonstrates that 100% of patients with MS have been exposed to EBV. EBV-infected cells, particularly B memory cells which have become immortalized with EBV infection, are thought to play an important role in the immune cascade responsible for both relapsing and progressive forms of MS. The success of interventions that deplete all peripheral B cells underscores the importance of these cells in MS pathophysiology. ATA188 offers a unique approach with the advantage of selectively targeting EBV-infected B cells and plasma cells in the circulation and in the central nervous system, or CNS. This Phase 1a multicenter, open-label study of ATA188 in patients with progressive forms of MS was designed to establish safety and tolerability, to select the recommended dose for the randomized placebo-controlled Phase 1b study, and to assess potential efficacy. Patients were treated across four dose-escalating cohorts, with six patients each in cohorts 1-3 and seven patients in cohort 4. The study found that across the four dose cohorts, ATA188 was well-tolerated in patients with progressive forms of MS. No dose-limiting toxicities and no fatal adverse events have been reported. Additionally, ATA188 infusion shows no clinically meaningful effect on cytokine levels post-infusion. Patients in the study were assessed on MS-focused clinical measures at three-, six- and 12-month time points. Composite scales of clinical outcome and of sustained disability improvement were evaluated in patients receiving all six doses of ATA188, which includes cohorts 1-4 at six months and cohorts 1-3 at 12 months. Sustained Disability Improvement, or SDI, is defined as clinically significant improvement in Expanded Disability Status Scale or timed 25-foot walk observed on two consecutive time points. All patients in cohorts 1-3 of this Phase 1 study showing SDI at six months, maintained improvement through 12 months. Additionally, a dose-related increase in the number of patients with SDI was observed. Cohorts 1 and 2 each had one patient with SDI at 6 months while Cohorts 3 and 4 each had two patients with SDI at 6 months. All patients in Cohorts 1-3 with SDI at six months, maintained SDI at 12 months. In Cohort 3, a third patient had SDI at 12 months. A dose-related trend of a higher proportion of patients showing favorable clinical improvement through a second composite scale, designed to detect early signals of efficacy, was also observed. The second composite scale is an a priori classification of patient outcomes incorporating seven clinically recognized scales for MS symptoms, function, and disability. Both composite scales suggest a potential therapeutic response of ATA188 in the treatment of progressive forms of MS. Based on these results, the cohort 3 dose was selected for the randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 1b study. Atara has now advanced into the Phase 1b double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study, which has resumed enrollment activities after a brief COVID-19-related pause. In addition to measuring disability progression, the study will also evaluate many facets of the disease, including: cognition and outpatient ambulatory activity; fatigue, and biological end points in blood and cerebrospinal fluid/CSF and MRI imaging.

07:11 EDT Extreme Networks to offer 'unlimited data' to cloud customers - Extreme Networks announced it is the first to offer "unlimited data" to its cloud customers. Beginning July 1, all new ExtremeCloud IQ Pilot subscribers will have access to unlimited data for the lifetime of their subscriptions. Existing ExtremeCloud IQ subscribers will be upgraded to unlimited data in this calendar year. Extreme's unlimited data offering sets a new standard for access to cloud data and insights that is unmatched in the industry.

07:09 EDT NeoPhotonics reaffirms Q2 guidance following Commerce Department announcements - NeoPhotonics issued a statement regarding the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security, or BIS, press release on May 22 announcing the impending addition of certain Chinese companies to the Export Administration Regulations, or EAR, Entity List. The company said, "The action of BIS will potentially restrict the export of items subject to the EAR to our customer FiberHome Technologies Group. NeoPhotonics will continue to monitor BIS guidance to assess the final ruling and any changes that may be required, and will remain in full compliance. The company does not anticipate any material impact on its near-term financial prospects and currently expects second quarter 2020 results to be within the upper half of its previously published outlook ranges."

07:07 EDT Lexington Realty names Joe Bonventre as COO, Brendan Mullinix as CIO - Lexington Realty Trust announced that Joe Bonventre has been appointed as Lexington's COO, in addition to continuing his roles as EVP, General Counsel and Secretary, and Brendan Mullinix has been appointed as Lexington's CIO, in addition to continuing his role as EVP.

07:06 EDT Applied Therapeutics appoints Chuck Silberstein as CFO - Applied Therapeutics announced the appointment of Dr. Charles Silberstein, MD, MBA, CFA as CFO and Head of Business Development, effective immediately. Dr. Silberstein is replacing Dr. Mark Vignola, who will be moving on to pursue new business opportunities. Silberstein was formerly Senior Vice President of Corporate Business Development at Allergan.

07:05 EDT TSX accepts TransAlta's notice to implement NCIB - TransAlta announced that the Toronto Stock Exchange, or TSX, has accepted the notice filed by the Company to implement a normal course issuer bid, or NCIB, for a portion of its common shares. Pursuant to the NCIB, TransAlta may repurchase up to a maximum of 14,000,000 Common Shares, representing approximately 7.02% of its public float of Common Shares as at May 25, 2020. Purchases under the NCIB may be made through open market transactions on the TSX and any alternative Canadian trading platforms on which the Common Shares are traded, based on the prevailing market price. Any Common Shares purchased under the NCIB will be cancelled.

07:03 EDT Texas Capital to terminate proposed merger with Independent Bank - Texas Capital Bancshares (TCBI), the parent company of Texas Capital Bank announced that Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. and Independent Bank Group (IBTX), the holding company for Independent Bank, have mutually agreed to terminate their merger agreement, previously announced on December 9, 2019, under which the companies had agreed to combine in an all-stock merger of equals. The termination was approved by both companies' boards of directors after careful consideration and given the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global markets and on the companies' ability to fully realize the benefits they expected to achieve through the merger. Neither party will pay any termination fee as a result of the mutual decision to terminate the merger agreement.

07:02 EDT Argenx reports Phase 3 ADAPT trial of efgartigimod met primary endpoint - Argenx announced topline data from the pivotal ADAPT trial of efgartigimod, which met its primary endpoint defined as percentage of responders on the Myasthenia Gravis Activities of Daily Living, or MG-ADL, score among acetylcholine receptor-antibody positive generalized myasthenia gravis patients. Based on these results, Argenx plans to submit a Biologics License Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the end of 2020. "With the ADAPT trial, we set out to evaluate efgartigimod's ability to redefine the treatment paradigm for people living with gMG. The data showed that efgartigimod drove fast and deep responses, including in a proportion of patients who achieved minimal or no symptoms after treatment. In addition, we saw responses that lasted beyond eight or 12 weeks, supporting our plans to offer individualized dosing schedules that are purpose-fit to the variability in disease course that gMG patients experience. Based on these data, we intend to submit a BLA for efgartigimod to the FDA before the end of the year, taking us one step closer to potentially making efgartigimod available to patients in 2021. All of us at argenx want to thank the patients and healthcare providers who participated in the ADAPT trial. ADAPT is the first pivotal trial of efgartigimod and these data further our confidence in its broad opportunity in other severe, IgG-mediated autoimmune diseases," said Wim Parys, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Argenx.

07:02 EDT LATAM Airlines trading halted, news pending

06:58 EDT AutoZone reports Q3 domestic SSS down 1% - The company said, "Domestic same store sales, or sales for stores open at least one year, decreased 1.0% for the quarter. The quarter can best be described in three, four-week segments. The first four weeks were strong as both Retail and Commercial performed well, up mid-single digit same store sales. The next four weeks, the weeks COVID-19 had its first impact on our business, our same store sales were down materially. Over the last four weeks, as federal stimulus checks began to flow through the economy, same store sales turned meaningfully positive."

06:56 EDT AutoZone reports inventory up 2.7% y/y

06:53 EDT Merck jumps 2.5% in premarket trading on plans for COVID-19 vaccines, treatment

06:51 EDT Merck, Ridgeback Bio collaborate to advance development of EIDD-2801 - Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP, a closely held biotechnology company, announced that the companies have entered into a collaboration agreement to develop EIDD-2801, an orally available antiviral candidate currently in early clinical development for the treatment of patients with COVID-19. In addition to our efforts to develop potential vaccines to SARS-CoV-2, we have also been evaluating our own anti-viral assets and those from external sources for their potential to treat individuals with COVID-19," said Dr. Roger M. Perlmutter, president, Merck Research Laboratories. "Clinical evaluation of EIDD-2801 in COVID-19 patients is just beginning, now that phase 1 studies have demonstrated that the compound is well-tolerated. Since preclinical studies demonstrate that EIDD-2801 has potent antiviral properties against multiple coronavirus strains including SARS-CoV-2, we are eager to advance the next phase of clinical studies as rapidly and responsibly as possible." Under terms of the agreement, Merck, through a subsidiary, will gain exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize EIDD-2801 and related molecules. Ridgeback Bio will receive an undisclosed upfront payment, specified milestones and a share of the net proceeds of EIDD-2801 and related molecules, if approved. Merck will be responsible for clinical development, regulatory filings and manufacturing. The transaction is subject to the expiration or earlier termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, and other customary closing conditions.

06:50 EDT Merck announces collaboration with IAVI to develop SARS-CoV-2 vaccine - Merck and IAVI, a nonprofit scientific research organization dedicated to addressing urgent, unmet global health challenges, announced a new collaboration to develop an investigational vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 to be used for the prevention of COVID-19. This vaccine candidate will use the recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus technology that is the basis for Merck's Ebola Zaire virus vaccine, ERVEBO, which was the first rVSV vaccine approved for use in humans. Merck has also signed an agreement with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, part of the office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response within an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, to provide initial funding support for this effort. Under the agreement IAVI and Merck will work together to advance the development and global clinical evaluation of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate designed and engineered by IAVI scientists. The vaccine candidate is in preclinical development, and clinical studies are planned to start later in 2020. Merck will lead regulatory filings globally. Both organizations will work together to develop the vaccine and make it accessible and affordable globally, if approved. "COVID-19 is an enormous scientific, medical, and global health challenge. Merck is collaborating with organizations around the globe to develop anti-infectives and vaccines that aim to alleviate suffering caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection," said Dr. Roger M. Perlmutter, president, Merck Research Laboratories. "Merck and IAVI are eager to combine our respective strengths to accelerate development of an rVSV vaccine candidate, with the goal of blunting the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic."

06:49 EDT Booz Allen sees FY21 cash from operating activities $550M-$600M

06:46 EDT Merck to acquire Themis Bioscience, to collaborate with IAVI, Ridgeback Bio

06:46 EDT Merck to announce multiple scientific efforts to combat COVID-19

06:33 EDT Hibbett Sports is not providing FY20 guidance - Due to the continued uncertainty regarding the overall impact COVID-19 will have on its business, the Company is not providing a full-year outlook at this time.

06:08 EDT AdaptHealth to acquire Solara Medical supplies and ActivStyle - AdaptHealth announced that it has entered into two separate definitive agreements to acquire San Diego, California based Solara Medical Supplies and Minneapolis, Minnesota based ActivStyle. Founded in 2002, Solara is the largest independent distributor of continuous glucose monitors, or CGM, in the U.S. ActivStyle is a leading direct-to-consumer supply company that provides incontinence and urology products to patients throughout the U.S. Steve Foreman, CEO of Solara, Gayle Devin, CEO of ActivStyle, and their respective management teams will join AdaptHealth. AdaptHealth intends to fund the transactions and associated costs through a combination of incremental debt and newly-issued equity. The Company has committed financing from its core lender group for an incremental $240M add-on to its existing Term Loan A facility. AdaptHealth has also received commitments for equity investments of $190M from One Equity Partners and $35M from funds managed by Deerfield Management, and is issuing $62.5M in common stock to the sellers of Solara, including Linden Capital Partners, as part of the consideration for Solara. The Company expects to fund any remaining amounts from cash on hand or through its current line of credit.

06:04 EDT Piedmont Lithium's studies confirm productivity of Kings Mountain plant - Piedmont Lithium reports the results of the Company's pre-feasibility study, or PFS, for its proposed lithium hydroxide chemical plant in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, USA. The PFS assumes a stand-alone merchant Chemical Plant that would convert spodumene concentrate purchased on the global market to battery-grade lithium hydroxide. Concurrently, Piedmont has updated the scoping study for its integrated mine-to-hydroxide project to reflect the updated Chemical Plant PFS. Both studies confirm that Piedmont will be a strategic and low-cost producer of battery-grade lithium hydroxide. Piedmont benefits from access to the exceptional infrastructure, low operating costs and low corporate taxes enjoyed by American industrial companies. The company said, "Piedmont will now advance the Chemical Plant through the permitting and definitive feasibility processes, providing us the option to move aggressively on either a merchant or integrated basis toward first lithium production in 2023 as the transition to electric vehicles begins to seriously take hold".

05:52 EDT NeoGenomics enters strategic collaboration with Inivata - NeoGenomics announced that it has formed a strategic collaboration with Inivata to commercialize the InVisionFirst-Lung liquid biopsy test in the United States. The company said, "InVisionFirst-Lung is a ctDNA NGS liquid biopsy assay testing 37 genes relevant to the care of advanced non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, patients. The test covers all National Comprehensive Cancer Network, or NCCN, guideline-recommended genomic drivers with FDA-approved targeted therapies for NSCLC. InVisionFirst-Lung results are delivered within seven calendar days from blood draw and the test is covered by Medicare and various private insurance payers for patients with advanced NSCLC meeting certain clinical criteria. As part of the collaboration, NeoGenomics will be making a $25 million minority ownership investment in Inivata, with an option to buy the company outright. The $25 million investment will be paid in two installments of $12.5 million. NeoGenomics will also have a seat on the Inivata Board of Directors. In addition, NeoGenomics and Inivata will seek opportunities for collaboration with biopharmaceutical companies around Inivata's liquid biopsy platform drawing on both companies' technology and expertise."

05:28 EDT KKR acquires majority stake in Etche France - KKR and Etche France, announced that KKR has acquired a strategic stake in Etche from Groupe BMF and co-founders. KKR said, "Etche is a private real estate company, founded in 2010 by the late Jean-Pierre Raynal and Leon Baruc, that owns and operates a portfolio of over 120 assets across France in the logistics, light industrial and office sectors. The transaction will further expand KKR's real estate presence and capabilities in France, with an increased focus on driving growth in the industrial and logistics sector through Etche."