Stockwinners Market Radar for May 28, 2020 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:29 EDT Diodes CEO sells 25K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Diodes discloses that its CEO Lu sold 25K shares of common stock on May 27th-28th in a total transaction size of $1.28M.

19:23 EDT Eli Lilly gets FDA approval of Tauvid in patients evaluated for Alzheimer's - TAUVID, a radioactive diagnostic agent, has been approved by the FDA for positron emission tomography imaging of the brain to estimate the density and distribution of aggregated tau neurofibrillary tangles in adult patients with cognitive impairment who are being evaluated for Alzheimer's disease, or AD. A neuropathological diagnosis of AD requires the demonstration of the presence of both beta-amyloid neuritic plaques and tau NFTs in the brain. TAUVID is the first and only approved diagnostic agent to image tau NFTs in the brain. Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company, developed TAUVID and AMYVID to provide physicians with meaningful information on the presence of both pathologies to aid the evaluation of patients suspected of having AD. Availability of TAUVID will initially be limited and will expand in response to commercial demand and payor reimbursement.

18:53 EDT Crocs' Poole sells 30,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Crocs EVP, CP&M officer Michelle Poole disclosed the sale of 30,000 common shares of the company on May 26 at a price of $29.33 per share.

18:41 EDT PG&E commits to supporting CPUC's enactment of measures - Working with the Governor's Office and incorporating guidance from a February 2020 ruling from CPUC President Batjer, PG&E made a series of commitments regarding its governance, operations, and financial structure, all designed to further prioritize safety and expedite the company's successful emergence from Chapter 11. The commitments include: Supporting the CPUC's enactment of measures to strengthen PG&E's governance and operations, including enhanced regulatory oversight and enforcement that provides course-correction tools as well as stronger enforcement if it becomes necessary; Agreeing to host a State-appointed observer to provide the State with insight into the company's progress on safety goals before the company exits Chapter 11; Selecting a substantial number of new members of the Boards of Directors of PG&E Corporation and Pacific Gas and Electric Company upon emergence from Chapter 11; Appointing an independent safety monitor when the term of the court-appointed Federal Monitor expires; Establishing newly expanded roles of Chief Risk Officer and Chief Safety Officer, with both reporting directly to the PG&E Corporation CEO; Forming an Independent Safety Oversight Committee to provide independent review of operations, including compliance, safety leadership, and operational performance; Assuming all collective bargaining agreements with labor unions, pension obligations, and other employee obligations, and all power purchase agreements; Reforming executive compensation to further tie it to safety performance and customer experience; A commitment that PG&E Corporation will not reinstate a common stock dividend until it has recognized $6.2 billion in non-GAAP core earnings, which PG&E believes will contribute an additional $4 billion of equity to pay down debt and invest in the business; Pursuing a rate-neutral $7.5 billion securitization transaction after PG&E emerges from Chapter 11 in order to finance costs in an efficient manner that benefits customers and accelerates payment to wildfire victims; and committing not to seek recovery in customer rates of any portion of the amounts that will be paid to victims of the 2015, 2017, and 2018 wildfires under the Plan when PG&E emerges from Chapter 11, except through the rate-neutral securitization transaction.

18:38 EDT Merck, Eisai announce new data from KEYTRUDA plus LENVIMA trials - Merck and Eisai announced new data from analyses of two trials evaluating KEYTRUDA, Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy, plus LENVIMA, an orally available multiple receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor discovered by Eisai. In the KEYNOTE-524/Study 116 and KEYNOTE-146/Study 111 trials, the KEYTRUDA plus LENVIMA combination demonstrated clinically meaningful objective response rates in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma with no prior systemic therapy and in patients with metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma who progressed following immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, respectively. "The tumor response rates demonstrated with KEYTRUDA plus LENVIMA in these studies underscore the potential of this combination regimen in certain types of hepatocellular and renal cell carcinoma," said Dr. Jonathan Cheng, Vice President, Oncology Clinical Research, Merck Research Laboratories. "KEYTRUDA plus LENVIMA is an important pillar of our broad oncology research program, and we continue to advance the study of the combination across multiple types of cancers and stages of disease." "As data from our combination trials continue to read out, our enthusiasm for and belief in the potential of KEYTRUDA plus LENVIMA are strengthened by the growing body of evidence observed in multiple advanced cancers," said Dr. Takashi Owa, Chief Medicine Creation and Chief Discovery Officer, Oncology Business Group at Eisai. "Our ongoing clinical study efforts on this combination exemplify our commitment to following the science and exploring possible solutions for patients affected by difficult-to-treat cancers."

18:30 EDT OneSpan founder Hunt sells 176K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, OneSpan chairman Kendall Hunt sold 176K shares of common stock on May 26th-28th. The total transaction size was $3.5M.

18:18 EDT GM says some North America crossover plants to increase shifts starting Monday - "The restart of vehicle production at General Motors' component and assembly plants in North America has gone smoothly thanks to strong teamwork," General Motors said in a statement. "Our comprehensive safety procedures are working well, and our suppliers have done a great job implementing their return-to-work strategies and safety playbooks. We are now in a position to increase production to meet strengthening customer demand and strong dealer demand. Starting Monday, three crossover assembly plants in the United States and Canada will be operating two production shifts, and three U.S. assembly plants building mid- and full-size pickups will move from one- to three-shift operations. Five other U.S. assembly plants will operate one production shift."

18:03 EDT Trip.com Group sees Q2 revenue down 67% to 77% from last year - The company states: "As a result of the continued negative impact due to COVID-19 in the second quarter of 2020, the Company expects net revenue to decrease by approximately 67% to 77% year-over-year for the second quarter of 2020. This forecast reflects the current and preliminary view based on best information available at the time, which is subject to change."

17:58 EDT BlackRock CLO Meade sells 2,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, BlackRock general counsel and CLO Christopher J. Meade disclosed the sale of 2,000 common shares of the company on May 26 at a price of $526.038 per share.

17:22 EDT DXC Technology suspends dividend, board to re-evaluate appropriate payout - Says the company says is re-evaluating sale of Workplace and Mobility business due to rise in Work From Home. Says U.S. State/Local HHS business deal to close sooner than expected. Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

17:04 EDT AstraZeneca says TAGRISSO showed 'unprecedented' benefit in Phase 3 trial - Detailed results from the Phase III ADAURA trial showed AstraZeneca's TAGRISSO demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in disease-free survival in the adjuvant treatment of patients with early-stage epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated non-small cell lung cancer after complete tumor resection with curative intent. Results will be presented during the plenary session of the American Society of Clinical Oncology ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program on May 31, 2020. In the primary endpoint of DFS in patients with Stage II and IIIA disease, adjuvant treatment with TAGRISSO reduced the risk of disease recurrence or death by 83%. DFS results in the overall trial population, Stage IB through IIIA, a key secondary endpoint, demonstrated a reduction in the risk of disease recurrence or death of 79%. At two years, 89% of all patients in the trial treated with TAGRISSO remained alive and disease free versus 53% on placebo. Consistent DFS results were seen across all subgroups, including patients treated with surgery followed by chemotherapy and those who received surgery only, as well as in Asian and non-Asian patients.

17:02 EDT Merck study shows KEYTRUDA reduced risk of progression, death by 40% - Merck announced the first presentation of results from KEYNOTE-177, a Phase 3 trial evaluating KEYTRUDA, Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy, for the first-line treatment of patients with microsatellite instability-high or mismatch repair deficient unresectable or metastatic colorectal cancer. In this pivotal study, KEYTRUDA monotherapy significantly reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 40% and showed a median progression-free survival of 16.5 months compared with 8.2 months for patients treated with chemotherapy, a current standard of care in this patient population. As previously announced, the study will continue without changes to evaluate overall survival, the other dual primary endpoint. These results were selected for presentation on Sunday, May 31, 2020 in the plenary session of the virtual scientific program of the 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting. "For many years, the standard of care for the first-line treatment of patients with MSI-H colorectal cancer has been the combination of mFOLFOX6 plus bevacizumab. This is the first time a single-agent, anti-PD-1 therapy demonstrated a superior, statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival compared to chemotherapy for these patients," said Dr. Roy Baynes, senior vice president and head of global clinical development, chief medical officer, Merck Research Laboratories. "There is an unmet need for new treatment options in the first-line setting that may provide sustained, long-term improvements in outcomes for patients with MSI-H colorectal cancer. We are grateful to have the opportunity to present these practice-changing findings at the plenary session of this year's ASCO."

16:58 EDT DXC Technology CEO says FY21 revenue runoff to be similar to FY20 - Says most pronounced impact to be seen in first half. Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

16:55 EDT Beneficial owner of Credit Acceptance Donald Foss sold almost $3M in shares - Beneficial owner of Credit Acceptance Donald Foss disclosed that he had sold 8,066 shares of company stock at an average price of $353.94 on May 26. The total transaction value of the sale was $2,854,907.

16:40 EDT Modine Manufacturing not providing guidance for FY21 - The Company states that it is "not providing a financial outlook at this time. There is currently significant uncertainty regarding the short-term and longer-term business impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Customer orders and production schedules are currently very unpredictable, so it is difficult to forecast revenue and earnings for FY21." CEO Thomas Burke says: "We are making the difficult decisions necessary to run our business as we deal with the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic, including aligning our production schedules with customer demand, while implementing the protocols necessary to keep our employees and communities safe. We are taking all the actions necessary to protect the company and preserve liquidity at the expected lower revenue levels. This includes reducing workforce where possible, implementing salary cuts and delaying all possible capital spending. At this time, it is very difficult to know the length and severity of the current economic downturn, but we believe that we will weather this storm and that our actions today will allow us to be in a strong position when end markets recover."

16:38 EDT Marvell up 6% to $31.72 after Q1 results beat estimates

16:35 EDT Orion Engineered to build new logistics center with capacity of 12,400 pallets - Orion Engineered announced that it is building a new logistics center at its largest manufacturing plant in Cologne, Germany. Upon completion, the central warehouse will be 8,850 square-meters, equaling a capacity of approximately 12,400 pallets. The new building, a project of Goldbeck construction company, will have eight truck docks. The company said the plant will equalize plant traffic - with about one hundred trucks passing through the plant gate every day. In addition, the new warehouse will eliminate internal logistics, with consolidation into one location. Orion will lease the warehouse from Grieshaber. Construction of the new distribution center will start in the next few weeks with the shell construction. The topping-out ceremony is planned for the end of June, with the handover and commissioning scheduled for December.

16:35 EDT Sonoma Pharmaceuticals, MicroSafe's Nanocyn approved in COVID-19 prevention - Sonoma Pharmaceuticals and its partner, the MicroSafe Group, Dubai, announce a break-through in the fight of the global coronavirus pandemic. MicroSafe Care Australia received approval for their patented and trademarked Nanocyn Disinfectant & Sanitizer, which is manufactured by Sonoma using its patented Microcyn Technology, to be entered into the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods for use against COVID-19.

16:34 EDT Aviat Networks awarded Virginia State Police contract - Aviat Networks announced a public safety communications project with the Virginia State Police. As a new customer, Virginia State Police will utilize Aviat's microwave hardware, software and services to upgrade its mission-critical network, enhancing communications for law enforcement and 20 other agencies across the Commonwealth of Virginia.

16:32 EDT TrueCar announces strategic restructuring, 30% workforce reduction - TrueCar announced a strategic restructuring of its workforce to reinforce its pursuit of a best-in-class car buying experience. In anticipation of the termination of its partnership with USAA Federal Savings Bank later this year, TrueCar initiated a workforce reduction impacting 219 positions, over 30% of the organization. The timing and scope of the reduction was accelerated by the impact of COVID-19. As part of the workforce reduction, the company expects to reduce annual expenses related to headcount, excluding stock-based compensation, by approximately $35M. In parallel with the workforce reduction, TrueCar also made changes to better align its organizational structure with its strategic priorities. Notable changes include: Formation of new Consumer Group composed of product, consumer acquisition, consumer marketing and affinity partner teams. This consolidation will encourage cross-functional collaboration and alignment in pursuit of a best-in-class consumer experience. Formation of a new Solutions Group composed of dealer sales & service, OEM sales & service and ALG. This consolidation will simplify and unify the company's go-to-market approach.

16:31 EDT Cisco confirms intent to acquire ThousandEyes - Cisco announced its intent to acquire privately held ThousandEyes, Inc. headquartered in San Francisco, CA. ThousandEyes' Internet and Cloud intelligence platform delivers deep visibility and insights into the digital delivery of applications and services over the Internet. "I'm excited to welcome the ThousandEyes team to Cisco," said Todd Nightingale, senior vice president and general manager, Cisco Enterprise Networking and Cloud. "The combination of Cisco and ThousandEyes will enable deeper and broader visibility to pin-point deficiencies and improve the network and application performance across all networks. This will give customers end-to-end visibility when accessing cloud applications, and Internet Intelligence will improve networking reliability and the overall application experience." Cisco will incorporate ThousandEyes' capabilities across Cisco's core Enterprise Networking and Cloud, and AppDynamics portfolios to enhance visibility across the enterprise, internet and the cloud. The acquisition is expected to close before the end of Cisco's Q1 FY'21. ThousandEyes will join Cisco's newly-formed Networking Services business unit, reporting to Todd Nightingale. As part of the Networking Services business unit, ThousandEyes CEO and co-founder Mohit Lad will take on the role of GM of ThousandEyes, and Co-Founder, CTO Ricardo Oliveira will continue to drive ThousandEyes product vision and innovation strategy.

16:29 EDT Dell Technologies COO says Q1 orders for certain customers up 15%-20% - "Customers need essential technology now more than ever to put business continuity, remote working and learning plans into practice," said Jeff Clarke, vice chairman and COO, Dell Technologies. "In Q1, we saw orders with banking and financial services, government, healthcare and life sciences customers up 15 to 20 percent - all to meet immediate needs of their customers, communities and patients. As the world pivots from response to recovery, we'll continue to put our broad capabilities to work to deliver differentiated results for our customers and our company."

16:27 EDT Dell Technologies reports Q1 VMware revenue $2.8B, up 12% - VMware revenue was $2.8B for the first quarter, up 12% driven by broad-based strength across a diverse product portfolio. Operating income for the quarter was $773M, or approximately 28% of VMware revenue.

16:24 EDT Valhi announces reverse stock split ratio of 1-for-12 - Valhi announced that at its annual stockholder meeting held, its stockholders approved a reverse stock split of the company's common stock and that, following the stockholder approval, its board of directors established a reverse stock split ratio of 1-for-12. The reverse stock split is expected to occur on June 1, 2020, with trading to begin on a split-adjusted basis on the New York Stock Exchange at the market open on June 2, 2020. Trading in the common stock will continue on the NYSE under the symbol "VHI.

16:21 EDT Williams-Sonoma jumps 9.8% after Q1 earnings beat

16:20 EDT Haemonetics sells blood donor management software assets to GPI Group - Haemonetics announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell certain blood donor management software solution assets within its Blood Center business unit to the GPI Group. GPI is a "leading company in providing IT Solutions supporting Healthcare and Social Services, listed on the MTA market of Borsa Italiana." Under the terms of the transaction, Haemonetics and its subsidiary Global Med Technologies will transfer the intellectual property, customer contracts and certain other assets relating to its ElDorado Donor, Hemasphere, Donor Doc, Donor Doc Phlebotomy, eDonor, DonorSpace, Surround and SafeTrace software products to GPI. These products are sold predominantly in the U.S. and provide a range of solutions to optimize blood donor collection centers' blood drive planning, donor recruitment and retention, blood collection, component manufacturing and distribution. The GPI Group business in the U.S. is managed through its subsidiary Hemasoft. Hemasoft is a U.S. company providing specialized web-based software solutions for blood donor centers, blood banks, transfusion services, cell therapy labs and tissue banks. This transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of calendar 2020, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

16:20 EDT Universal Display's Adesis names Helen Stimson as COO - Adesis, Inc., a contract research organization supporting the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Universal Display Corporation, announced that Helen Stimson has been appointed Chief Operating Officer. She will join Adesis on June 1, 2020 and lead the operational, sales and marketing aspects of the CRO business.

16:17 EDT ascena will continue to evaluate all options to preserve ongoing operations - The company ended Q3 with cash and cash equivalents of approximately $439M. The company ended Q3 with outstanding term-loan debt of $1.29B, with interest payments due in Q4 of FY20 of $20.9M and its next quarterly term-loan payment of $22.5M due in November 2020. The company also ended Q3 with $230M of borrowings outstanding under its amended and restated revolving credit agreement, which was utilized to maintain maximum financial flexibility. Borrowings under the company's amended and restated revolving credit agreement have no required repayments until the maturity date, which is currently expected to be in May 2022. Due to the company's increased level of debt and deferred liabilities resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the aggressive steps it has taken, the company will continue to evaluate all available options to preserve its ongoing operations.

16:16 EDT VMware reports Q1 Subscription and SaaS revenue up 39% at $572M

16:14 EDT Okta drops 3% to $178.00 following Q1 results

16:13 EDT Salesforce down 3% to $176 after lowering FY21 guidance

16:12 EDT Adverum Biotechnologies provides update amid COVID-19 pandemic - The company said, "In March 2020, the San Francisco Bay Area of California, where Adverum has its corporate headquarters, mandated a Shelter-in-Place Executive Order in response to the World Health Organization declaring a pandemic related to coronavirus (COVID-19). The company's primary focus is on the health and safety of its employees, patients, and healthcare providers. In mid-March, the company implemented a number of actions, including a work-from-home policy for employees whose jobs have not required them to be on-site. The company has maintained certain essential in-person laboratory functions in order to advance key research and development initiatives supported by the implementation of updated onsite procedures. The company believes these measures and others have allowed it to mitigate, but not eliminate, the effects on and risks of on-site operations posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the OPTIC Phase 1 trial, patients with wet AMD are in high-risk categories for COVID-19 complications based on age, comorbidities, or both. The company is working closely with clinical trial sites to monitor and attempt to minimize the potential negative impacts of the evolving COVID-19 outbreak on patient safety, patient enrollment, continued participation of patients already enrolled in the company's clinical studies, protocol compliance, data quality, and overall study integrity. Despite these efforts, the company continues to assess whether the COVID-19 pandemic will significantly impact trial enrollment or completion of the current or planned clinical studies. Additionally, although the company has sufficient drug supply for its current clinical trials, it is working with its product supply partners to implement measures where possible to attempt to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic's effects on and risks to its future clinical supply needs and long-term timelines, which may result in additional expenses."

16:11 EDT Nordstrom says about 40% of store fleet now open - Nordstrom said: "Applying a phased market-by-market approach, the company began reopening stores in early May with approximately 40 percent of its fleet now open. Nordstrom continues to serve customers online and provides contactless curbside pickup services in most full-line stores. In addition, the company is utilizing fulfillment capabilities at full-line and Nordstrom Rack stores to leverage inventory in its markets and bring greater selection and faster delivery to customers. Nordstrom is focused on protecting the health and safety of employees and customers as well as supporting its communities through efforts including sewing nearly one million masks for healthcare workers and through its 2025 philanthropy goals."

16:10 EDT Salesforce reports remaining performance obligation ended Q1 at ~$29.3B - Remaining performance obligation ended the first quarter at approximately $29.3B, an increase of 18% year-over-year. Current remaining performance obligation ended the first quarter at approximately $14.5B, an increase of 23% year-over-year, 24% in constant currency.

16:10 EDT Nordstrom CEO says entering Q2 'in a position of strength' - "We successfully strengthened our financial flexibility by increasing liquidity, lowering inventory by more than 25 percent from last year and significantly reducing our cash burn by more than 40 percent from March into April. We're entering the second quarter in a position of strength, adding to our confidence that we have sufficient liquidity to successfully execute our strategy in 2020 and over the longer term," said Erik Nordstrom, CEO of Nordstrom, Inc. The company added: "The company entered fiscal 2020 with cash of approximately $850 million and increased its position to approximately $1.4 billion by the end of the first quarter. The company significantly reduced its cash burn and took early actions to increase liquidity. Nordstrom drew down and amended its $800 million revolver; issued $600 million in senior secured notes; and suspended dividends and share repurchases. In addition to its planned expense savings of $200 to $250 million, the company is on track to deliver further cash savings of more than $500 million in operating expenses, capital expenditures and working capital in fiscal 2020. These savings include a reduction in non-occupancy overhead expenses of approximately 20 percent on an annualized basis. The inventory reduction of more than 25 percent from last year resulted from the company's efforts during the quarter to decrease receipts by approximately 30 percent, stimulate demand through increased marketing and promotions and utilize store fulfillment capabilities. This favorable inventory position enables the company to bring in newness for customers beginning in June."

16:08 EDT Cognex announces cost-cutting measures, to cut about 190 employees - Cognex Corporation announced that it has taken significant steps to reduce expenses due to the deteriorating market conditions and to position the company for growth when conditions improve. The actions being taken by Cognex include a reduction in its global workforce of approximately 190 employees (8% of its worldwide headcount) and a reduction in leased office spaces. In addition, Cognex CEO, Rob Willett, and Chairman, Dr. Robert Shillman, decided to waive their salaries, and the company's Board of Directors have waived their cash fees for the remainder of the year. These measures follow actions previously taken by Cognex during the past two months to reduce spending and restrict new hiring. Cognex expects to record a total restructuring charge of approximately $20 million, primarily in the second quarter of 2020, for the workforce reduction and lease terminations. These actions, together with steps previously taken, are expected to result in annualized cost savings of approximately $25 million. In addition, Cognex expects to record a non-cash charge of between $15 million and $30 million in the second quarter for the impairment of intangible assets and write-down of excess or obsolete inventory due to the deteriorated business conditions.

16:07 EDT Adverum Biotechnologies announces intimation of INFINITY trial - Adverum Biotechnologies announced the initiation of INFINITY, a Phase 2, multi-center, randomized, double-masked, active comparator-controlled trial to assess a single intravitreal, or IVT, injection of ADVM-022 in patients with diabetic macular edema, or DME. The INFINITY trial will enroll approximately 33 patients and is designed to demonstrate superior control of disease activity following a single IVT injection of ADVM-022 compared to a single aflibercept injection, as measured by time to worsening of DME disease activity. Additional objectives include assessments of treatment burden, visual acuity, retinal anatomy and safety outcomes. Participants in this double-masked trial will be randomized to one of three arms for their study eye treatment. Arm 1 will receive the higher dose of ADVM-022 at 6x1011 vg.Arm 2 will receive the lower dose of ADVM-022 at 2x1011 vg. Arm 3 will receive aflibercept at a dose of 2 mg.

16:05 EDT Lamar Advertising lowers dividend to 50c per share - Lamar Advertising announces that its board of directors has declared a quarterly dividend of 50c per share payable on June 3 , to stockholders of record of Lamar's Class A common stock and Class B common stock on June 22. "While customer activity has picked up, as we noted when we reported first-quarter results, the trajectory of our business through the remainder of 2020 remains difficult to predict," Lamar chief executive Sean Reilly said. "Given that uncertainty, the board concluded that adjusting the dividend for the second quarter is the prudent course of action. We plan to evaluate our dividend plans on a quarterly basis, giving consideration to our liquidity, our leverage and the operating environment that we foresee. We fully intend to honor our obligation as a REIT to pay out at least 90% of our full-year taxable income." Lamar previously paid a dividend of $1.00 per share on March 31.

15:39 EDT EA, NFL, NFLPA confirm multi-year renewal of exclusive partnership - Electronic Arts, the National Football League and the NFL Players Association announced a multi-year renewal to their partnership, marking the biggest and widest-reaching gaming agreement in NFL history. Under the partnership, the EA SPORTS Madden NFL franchise will exclusively create authentic football simulation games, and EA SPORTS, the NFL and the NFLPA will partner to develop games in new genres, expanded esports programs, and additional experiences for fans across more platforms. EA SPORTS, the NFL and the NFLPA will also partner on innovative new experiences and more ways for fans around the world to connect with the excitement of NFL football. This will include games in new genres with more forms of play and self-expression, available on more platforms, including expanded offerings for mobile players. Esports will also continue to grow, with increased competitive programs and broadcast content to reach and entertain more fans. This partnership will also focus on design, visualization and development innovations to grow and deepen the world of Madden NFL, impacting how it plays and feels, and how players connect to the world of the NFL as it happens. "Building on the most successful year ever for Madden NFL, this is a powerful time for EA SPORTS to come together with the NFL and the NFLPA in this new wide-reaching partnership," said Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts. "Together, we have a tremendous opportunity to entertain more players through new Madden NFL experiences, games in new genres and on new platforms, esports, and new innovations that will grow fans' love of the NFL around the world."

15:06 EDT EA says Apex Legends Season 5 'off to best start of any season to date' - Respawn Entertainment, a studio of Electronic Arts, announced that "Apex Legends Season 5 - Fortune's Favor" has "quickly become the best start of any season to date." The company added: "More new players are coming into the game and along with returning fans, it has driven the highest player retention for a season launch, with players playing for longer periods of time per day than ever before." Reference Link

14:37 EDT McCormick extends U.S. premium pay incentives, continuing to hire - McCormick announced plans to extend premium pay incentives through June to U.S. employees who are required to physically work onsite to keep essential food supply operations running. Workers will receive an additional $2.00 per hour. "McCormick continues to hire during the pandemic given its critical role in providing key ingredients to the entire food industry. The company also plans to maintain other workforce benefits including flexibility to care for dependents in conjunction with school or care facilities being unavailable due to COVID-19 as well as the continuation of 100% pay for up to 12 weeks if operations are suspended," the company stated.

14:27 EDT North American rail traffic dropped 18.7% in week ended May 23 - The Association of American Railroads, AAR, reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending May 23. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 428,715 carloads and intermodal units, down 19.2% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending May 23 were 190,639 carloads, down 27.5% compared with the same week in 2019, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 238,076 containers and trailers, down 11.2% compared to 2019..."Of the 20 carload categories we track, 15 had modestly higher loadings last week than the week before, led by motor vehicles and grain. Meanwhile, intermodal originations were higher last week than in any of the previous 11 weeks. While we can't yet say whether rail traffic and, by extension, the economy, have turned a corner, these are all encouraging signs," said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. "As areas across the country begin to reopen over the next several weeks, perhaps we can start looking for light at the end of what has become a rather long tunnel. Whatever the outcome, railroads will do their part to get us out of the tunnel safely and reliably." North American rail volume for the week ending May 23, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 272,100 carloads, down 26.2% compared with the same week last year, and 313,831 intermodal units, down 10.8% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 585,931 carloads and intermodal units, down 18.7%. North American rail volume for the first 21 weeks of 2020 was 13,140,443 carloads and intermodal units, down 11.4 percent compared with 2019. Publicly traded companies in the space include CSX (CSX), Canadian National (CNI), Canadian Pacific (CP), Genesee & Wyoming (GWR), Kansas City Southern (KSU), Norfolk Southern (NSC) and Union Pacific (UNP). Reference Link

13:44 EDT Middlesex Water awarded ten-year contract by Borough of Highland Park - Middlesex Water announced that its subsidiary, Utility Service Affiliates, or "USA," has been awarded a ten-year contract to operate and maintain the Borough of Highland Park, New Jersey's water and wastewater systems commencing July 1, 2020. Under this agreement, USA will maintain the Borough's water main and fire hydrants, serving approximately 3,350 properties in addition to 32 miles of sewer main and over 650 sanitary manholes. The borough receives all of its water supply from Middlesex Water Company and its wastewater is transported to the Middlesex County Utilities Authority for treatment. The total contract value, as awarded, is $8.3M over a 10-year period.

13:09 EDT FDA authorizes Quest Diagnostics COVID-19 self-collection kit for emergency use - Quest Diagnostics announced that it has received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the Quest Diagnostics Self-collection Kit for COVID-19. The self-collection kit is for individuals to self-collect a nasal specimen at home or in a healthcare setting when determined to be appropriate by a healthcare provider. Specimens collected using the kit may be tested with the Quest Diagnostics SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test that received an Emergency Use Authorization in March. RT-PCR testing aids in diagnosing infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Quest shared data with FDA that indicate that the self-collection kit offers a consumer-friendly approach to high quality diagnostic testing for COVID-19. Quest Diagnostics already tested specimens using a similar collection method in real-world settings in drive-thru and other onsite COVID-19 testing sites across the United States. The company plans to make the self-collection kits available through several channels, including for healthcare providers for patient care and healthcare workers as well as for states and organizations for return-to-work testing programs. Over time, the kits may also be made available to other employers as well as for individual users of the company's QuestDirect consumer-initiated platform. The company will prioritize healthcare workers, first responders, law enforcement personnel and others critical to pandemic response to ensure they have timely access to the kit. The company expects to have more than a half-million kits available by the end of June, with plans to make additional kits available on an ongoing basis.

13:04 EDT Xbox Series X backward compatible games to support system's new features - Jason Ronald, director of Program Management for Microsoft's upcoming gaming console Xbox Series X, said in a blog post that games backwards compatible games for the new console will be enhanced with the system's new features. He said that, with more than 100,000 hours of play testing already completed, thousands of games from previous Xbox generations are already playable on Xbox Series X today, from the biggest blockbusters to cult classics and fan favorites. "Many of us in Team Xbox play on the Xbox Series X daily as our primary console and switching between generations is seamless," Ronald said. "By the time we launch this holiday, the team will have spent well over 200,000 hours ensuring your game library is ready for you to jump in immediately." "Not only should gamers be able to play all of these games from the past, but they should play better than ever before," Ronald added. "Backwards compatible games run natively on the Xbox Series X hardware, running with the full power of the CPU, GPU and the SSD. No boost mode, no downclocking, the full power of the Xbox Series X for each and every backward compatible game. This means that all titles run at the peak performance that they were originally designed for, many times even higher performance than the games saw on their original launch platform, resulting in higher and more steady framerates and rendering at their maximum resolution and visual quality. Backwards compatible titles also see significant reductions in in-game load times from the massive leap in performance from our custom NVME SSD which powers the Xbox Velocity Architecture. As I play through my personal backlog as part of our internal testing, all of the incredible games from Xbox One and earlier play best on Xbox Series X." Ronald also noted that the new Quick Resume feature will be enabled for backward-compatible titles. Quick Resume enables players to resume exactly where they left off, across multiple titles. The new advancements of the system will allow older games to have improved image quality, better frame rates, and the ability to run at higher resolutions. Reference Link

12:57 EDT UPS turns positive after WSJ report of surcharges on retailers - The stock is up 67c to $100.28 in afternoon trading.

12:14 EDT Facebook extends ID verification to some profiles with large audiences - Facebook said in in news release: "We want to ensure the content you see on Facebook is authentic and comes from real people, not bots or others trying to conceal their identity. In 2018, we started to verify the identity of people managing Pages with large audiences, and now we're extending ID verification to some profiles with large audiences in the US. Moving forward, we will verify the identity of people who have a pattern of inauthentic behavior on Facebook and whose posts start to rapidly go viral in the US. We want people to feel confident that they understand who's behind the content they're seeing on Facebook and this is particularly important when it comes to content that's reaching a lot of people. If someone chooses not to verify their identity or the ID provided does not match the linked Facebook account, the distribution of their viral post will remain reduced so fewer people will see it." Reference Link

11:47 EDT Robotics firm Nuro Partners with CVS on autonomous prescription deliveries - In a recent blog post on Medium, the Nuro Team said "The last few months have caused us all to revisit how we plan our days, make our livings, stock our kitchens, educate our children, and get the items we need. How we acquire essential goods like toilet paper, cough medicine, hand sanitizer, and food has taken on greater significance. At the same time, with nearly one in every two Americans, there's a critical part of the daily routine that hasn't changed: needing prescription medication. That's why today, we're proud to announce that Nuro has joined forces with one of the nation's most respected names in healthcare: CVS Pharmacy. Starting in June, this first-of-its-kind partnership brings Nuro into the health space - our third delivery vertical - as we utilize our fleet of autonomous vehicles to deliver prescriptions and essentials across three zip codes in Houston, Texas." According to Nuro , its "vehicle is a fully autonomous, on-road vehicle designed to transport goods - quickly, safely, and affordably." Reference Link

11:44 EDT Toll Brothers focused on growth in mountain states, South

11:34 EDT Aurora Cannabis completes acquisition of Reliva for approximately $40M in stock - Aurora Cannabis announced it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Reliva, which it calls "a leader in the sale of hemp-derived CBD products in the United States," for approximately $40M of Aurora common shares. The transaction also includes a potential earn-out of up to a maximum of $45M payable at Aurora's option in shares or cash contingent upon Reliva achieving certain financial targets over the next two years, the company noted. "We are pleased to have closed the Reliva transaction ahead of schedule. The partnership between Aurora and Reliva is expected to create a market leading international cannabinoid platform that we believe can deliver robust revenue and profitable growth. I would like to officially welcome Miguel Martin and his team to Aurora, and look forward to increasing Aurora's operating scale, international reach, and product and brand diversity while in parallel, we remain focused on delivering Adjusted EBITDA profitability in Canada for the benefit of all shareholders," said Michael Singer, Executive Chairman and Interim CEO of Aurora.

11:24 EDT FDA announces Oct. 16, 2021 new effective date for final cigarette labeling rule - The FDA stated in a post to its website: "Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its disruptive impacts on both regulated industry and FDA, on May 8 the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted a joint motion in the case of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. et al. v. United States Food and Drug Administration et al., No. 6:20-cv-00176, to govern proceedings in that case and postpone the effective date of the 'Required Warnings for Cigarette Packages and Advertisements' final rule by 120 days. FDA remains fully committed to the rule and would not agree to postpone its effective date but not for the extraordinary disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The new effective date of the final rule is Oct. 16, 2021. Pursuant to the court order, any obligation to comply with a deadline tied to the effective date is similarly postponed. FDA strongly encourages entities to submit cigarette plans as soon as possible, and in any event by Dec. 16, 2020. FDA has updated the 'Required Warnings for Cigarette Packages and Advertisements' small entity compliance guide and the 'Submission of Plans for Cigarette Packages and Cigarette Advertisements' guidance to include the rule's new effective date and updated timing for submission of cigarette plans." Publicly traded companies in the tobacco products space include Altria Group (MO), British American Tobacco (BTI), Imperial Brands (IMBBY) and Philip Morris (PM). Reference Link

11:19 EDT Toll Brothers 'encouraged' by pick up in deposits in May

11:13 EDT Toll Brothers: Housing market more resilient than expected

11:10 EDT Southwest bolsters late 2020 flight schedule with more flights, options - Southwest Airlines announced it has extended its published flight schedule from Oct. 31, 2020, through Jan. 4, 2021. The company said: "As Southwest looks toward the end of 2020, the carrier is adding a more robust schedule for business travelers with more frequencies and more nonstop flight options from Phoenix, Denver, Las Vegas, and Nashville." Andrew Watterson, Southwest Airlines Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer, added: "We're rounding out our plan for this unprecedented year with our business travelers in mind with a fourth quarter schedule that brings them new routes across the country. We're also offering more flights for all of our Customers in places such as Denver, Las Vegas, Nashville, and Phoenix. We anticipate business travelers will hit the road with a heightened focus on costs, so we're pairing unmatched schedules with our value and Hospitality to welcome them back, whenever they're ready to travel...Never before has Southwest been more primed to emerge as the preferred choice of corporate travel as the business climate across America begins its recovery."

11:08 EDT Southwest plans to resume service to Mexico and the Caribbean on July 1 - Southwest Airlines announced that it has extended its published flight schedule from Oct. 31, 2020, through Jan. 4, 2021. The company said: "Southwest continues to monitor conditions in 14 international destinations on the carrier's network map and update operational plans. The carrier currently plans to resume service to Mexico and the Caribbean via Cancun, San Jose del Cabo/Los Cabos, Havana, Montego Bay, and Nassau on July 1, 2020, subject to change. Service to the carrier's other international destinations will resume pending the easing of government restrictions."

11:05 EDT Commissioner Rosenworcel says FCC shouldn't be 'President's speech police' - Jessica Rosenworcel, a commissioner of the FCC, tweeted: "Social media can be frustrating. But an Executive Order that would turn the FCC into the President's speech police is not the answer. It's time for those in Washington to speak up for the First Amendment. History won't be kind to silence." Reference Link

10:41 EDT GE Power's path to recovery may take longer than thought, Culp says

10:15 EDT General Electric CEO: Power turnaround 'continues'

10:10 EDT General Electric CEO: $1B+ cost/$2B+ cash actions in Aviation on track

10:07 EDT General Electric sees 2020 as 'negative' free cash flow year, Culp says - He expects free cash flow to be "better" in 2H and positive in 2021.

10:05 EDT General Electric CEO Culp: 'We know we have challenges in Aviation'

10:02 EDT General Electric 'hyperfocused on the here and now,' Culp says - Comments made by Chairman and CEO Larry Culp at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference.

10:02 EDT AIkido Pharma announces publication of results from sponsored WFU research - AIkido Pharma announced the publication of a paper: "The Novel Phospholipid Mimetic KPC34 Is Highly Active Against Acute Myeloid Leukemia with Activated Protein Kinase C" by Peter M. Alexander, Gregory L. Kucera, Kristin M. Pladna and Timothy S. Pardee in the July 2020 issue of Translational Oncology. The paper documents the results from the company's sponsored research at Wake Forest University. Anthony Hayes, CEO of AIkido stated, "Wake Forest University is a world-class research facility and an outstanding partner for AIkido. This detailed research report helps to quantify the expected benefits of our novel approach to this aggressive disease with what we hope will be a transformative solution."

10:00 EDT HP Inc. falls -10.0% - HP Inc. is down -10.0%, or -$1.71 to $15.41.

10:00 EDT Liberty Oilfield Services rises 8.1% - Liberty Oilfield Services is up 8.1%, or 44c to $5.86.

10:00 EDT Triumph Group rises 36.2% - Triumph Group is up 36.2%, or $2.96 to $11.14.

09:58 EDT Premier ProvideGx program partners with Hikma to secure supply of drugs - Premier, through its ProvideGx program, has partnered with Hikma Pharmaceuticals to supply amiodarone and sterile water to healthcare providers, helping to stabilize the long-term supply of two medications vital for COVID-19 patient care. Amiodarone is used to manage late onset cardiac arrest and ventrical arrhythmia, two common complications associated with hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Although this drug is not currently on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's drug shortage list, Premier's purchasing data shows that amiodarone is heavily backordered, with just 55 percent of orders being fulfilled due to the dramatic spike in demand during the first quarter of 2020. Sterile water is currently on the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists shortage list and has historically rolled on and off the FDA's shortage list due to production delays and increased demand. Sterile water is used to reconstitute many medications for injection, including remdesivir, which has been shown to speed COVID-19 recovery times. The financial terms of Premier's agreement with Hikma were not disclosed. Revenues from this agreement are not expected to materially impact Premier FY 2020 results.

09:49 EDT Finjan Holdings, Cisco patent infringement reset to October 19 - Finjan Holdings (FNJN) announces that its jury trial against Cisco Systems (CSCO) previously scheduled for June 22, 2020, has been postponed to October 19, 2020. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Case No. 5:17-cv-00072-BLF, before the Honorable Beth Labson Freeman. On May 26, 2020, Judge Freeman held a video Case Management Conference, discussing among other things, the Court's May 21, 2020, General Order No. 72-3. The General Order sets forth that "No new jury trial will be conducted through September 30, 2020." Judge Freeman explained that the delay on all civil jury trials will allow the Court to hear the "enormous backlog" of criminal matters, ensuring the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution's right to a speedy trial. Further, the General Order modified court operations to "balance the various interests implicated by the COVID-19 public health emergency" through "guidance of the public health officials." Trial will be held in San Jose, Courtroom 3, 5th Floor before Judge Freeman. Jury selection is currently set for 10/16 and 10/19/2020. Jury trial is currently set for 10/19 - 10/23/2020, 10/26 -10/30/2020, and 11/2 - 11/6/2020.

09:47 EDT Plantronics falls -9.5% - Plantronics is down -9.5%, or -$1.39 to $13.22.

09:47 EDT Cypress Energy rises 6.2% - Cypress Energy is up 6.2%, or 27c to $4.65.

09:47 EDT Triumph Group rises 37.7% - Triumph Group is up 37.7%, or $3.08 to $11.26.

09:32 EDT Atossa Therapeutics announces second COVID-19 Therapeutic Development Program - Atossa Therapeutics announced that it has begun the development of a second COVID-19 program using its proprietary drug candidate AT-301, to be administered by nasal spray. AT-301 is Atossa's proprietary formula intended for nasal administration in patients immediately following diagnosis of COVID-19 but who have not yet exhibited symptoms severe enough to require hospitalization. It is intended for at-home use to proactively reduce symptoms of COVID-19 and to slow the infection rate so that a person's immune system can more effectively fight SARS-CoV-2. Atossa also intends to conduct testing to determine whether AT-301 can be used as a prophylaxis to prevent or mitigate SARS-CoV-2, with the goal that it could become a "bridge to the vaccine" and be useful in the next phase of the coronavirus pandemic. Atossa has retained Summit Biosciences to develop and produce a clinical supply of pre-filled nasal spray products in multi-dose devices containing AT-301 with the goal of commencing initial human clinical trials in the third quarter 2020. Next steps with this program include the design and manufacturing of the clinical trial materials and the active pharmaceutical ingredients in AT-301 followed by adequate and well-controlled studies to demonstrate safety and efficacy. These studies must be successfully completed and regulatory approvals must be obtained before AT-301 may be commercialized. Atossa has filed provisional patent applications on AT-301 to treat patients diagnosed with, or to prevent, COVID-19 via nasal spray and intends to apply to the FDA as soon as possible so that human clinical trials may be commenced in the third quarter 2020.

09:13 EDT ViacomCBS promotes Jonathan Karp to CEO of Simon & Schuster - ViacomCBS announced that Jonathan Karp has been promoted to President and CEO of Simon & Schuster, effective immediately. The company said in a release, "Karp will oversee all of Simon & Schuster's domestic and international publishing operations. He succeeds Carolyn Reidy, former President and CEO of Simon & Schuster, who passed away earlier this month. Karp most recently served as President and Publisher of Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing, which includes Atria Books, Avid Reader Press, Gallery Books, Scribner, Simon & Schuster and their associated sub-imprints and lines."

09:11 EDT Acadia appoints Mark Schneyer as Chief Business Officer - Acadia (ACAD) announced announced that Mark Schneyer has been appointed to the newly created position of Senior Vice President, Business Development and Chief Business Officer. The company said in a release, "Mr. Schneyer will be responsible for sourcing and executing business development opportunities and serve as a member of the company's Executive Management Committee. Schneyer joins Acadia from Pfizer (PFE), where he most recently was Vice President, Business Development, for the Upjohn division."

09:09 EDT Snap announces Partner Summit to take place virtually on June 11 - Snap announced that it will stream its Snap Partner Summit on June 11. Snap said in a release,"The virtual event will feature a keynote address by Snap Inc. co-founders Evan Spiegel, CEO, and Bobby Murphy, Chief Technology Officer, and other team members from across the company. New product features and partnerships will be announced around Snap's augmented reality offerings, Discover content platform, developer and creator ecosystems, and more. Video breakout sessions which go deeper on these topics will be made publicly available following the conclusion of the keynote." Evan Spiegel said, "We deeply value our partners and the role they play in empowering our community to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together. We're looking forward to celebrating our partners and sharing more about the future of the products and platforms that we've been building together."

09:07 EDT Mechel reports increased sales for wagon building in 2020 - Mechel reported increased sales of rails and sections for wagon building over the first four months of 2020. Over these months, Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant has shipped 3.5 times more rails year-on-year, with sales totaling 145,000 tonnes. Rail exports have more than doubled during this period. The plant has also signed its first contract with Georgian Railways and began shipping, as well as signed yet another contract with Belarus Railways. Customers of the plant's rails also include projects of Russia's Defense Ministry and several Russian steelmakers. Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant also signed a contract with Uzbekistan Railways for Z-sections which are used in wagon building. So far in 2020, Izhstal supplied the Moscow Metro with some 5.400 tonnes of conductor rails used for construction and modernization of the Russian capital's underground transit system. In 2019, Izhstal shipped nearly 6,000 tonnes of conductor rails. Apart from Moscow, other Russian cities that are either constructing or repairing their metro systems - such as Kazan and Saint-Petersburg - voiced their interest in the plant's output. In May, the plant received a certificate of compliance for its conductor rails from the voluntary wagon building product certification agency.

09:05 EDT Zoom Video hires Damien Hooper-Campbell as chief diversity officer - Zoom Video Communications (ZM) announced that Damien Hooper-Campbell will join the company as its first chief diversity officer, effective June 1, 2020. He was most recently the chief diversity officer for eBay (EBAY). Hooper-Campbell will lead the design and implementation of Zoom's global diversity and inclusion strategy with a focus on its current and future employees and its products. He will also be responsible for establishing Zoom's university recruiting program and initiatives.

09:03 EDT UPS Healthcare announces UPS Premier - UPS Healthcare announced the expansion of its healthcare capabilities with UPS Premier as part of ongoing service and technology upgrades to meet priority-handling needs of healthcare shipments. UPS's new healthcare logistics unit also launched a new brand slogan, "Quality Focused. Patient Driven." to highlight its long-term strategy to expand its quality system and focus on a supply chain experience that has UPS customers' patients in mind. The service leverages UPS's Smart Global Logistics Network package tracking capabilities, combined with next-generation, sensor technology, to enable priority flow paths, sortation, contingency actions and delivery services for critical healthcare shipments.

08:48 EDT Blink Charging announces 1,000 installations of IQ 200 EV charging stations - Blink Charging announced the deployment of its 1,000th second-generation level 2 charging station, the IQ 200. The new hardware is deployed across a variety of industries across 30 states. The top venues for the fast Level 2 chargers include multifamily residences, healthcare and educational facilities, dedicated parking facilities, and municipal locations. The nation's regions with the largest electric vehicle populations have seen the most Blink IQ 200 installations, including California, Oregon, Florida, Texas, Arizona, and Washington.

08:45 EDT Novartis to manufacture COVID vaccine program from Massachusetts General - The AAVCOVID vaccine program at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Massachusetts General Hospital has entered into a manufacturing agreement to produce its novel genetic vaccine with an industry leader in gene therapy, AveXis, a Novartis Company. AveXis will begin manufacturing the vaccine this month while AAVCOVID undergoes further safety and efficacy testing in preclinical studies taking place at academic medical institutions including Mass. Eye and Ear. Through the strategic partnership, AveXis is "contributing its technology, expertise and supply chain at no cost to supply the AAV vaccine for COVID clinical trials scheduled to begin in the second half of 2020." Reference Link

08:41 EDT Enlivex Therapeutics presents data from Phase 1b trial of Allocetra - Enlivex Therapeutics announced that new analyses from its recently completed Phase Ib clinical trial of Allocetra in patients with sepsis will be presented as part of an oral presentation at the International Society for Cellular Therapy 2020 Paris-Virtual Annual Meeting at a plenary satellite entitled "Moving ahead at full speed: Immune-Mediated Therapeutics". The presentation will include new exploratory endpoint analyses that demonstrated the potential of Allocetra to resolve cytokine storms with heterogenous underlying pathologies, as well as previously disclosed safety and efficacy data. ISCT is the global leader focused on pre-clinical and translational aspects of developing cell and gene-based therapeutics, comprising more than 1700 cell and gene therapy experts across five geographic regions and representation from over 60 countries. Enlivex's newly presented data tracked the levels of 30+ immune modulators in patients with sepsis before and after Allocetra treatment. Abnormal levels of each class of immune modulator were observed in sepsis patients prior to treatment. Following treatment, patients with dysregulated immune modulators of all classes returned to, or trended towards, levels consistent with immune homeostasis, despite the heterogeneous baseline in cytokine storm profile of immune modulators - including IL-6, TNFalpha, MCP-1, IL-10 and many others - that were dysregulated differently across patients. The oral presentation, "Resolution of cytokine storm associated with sepsis by apoptotic cells administration," will be delivered by Prof. Mevorach. Highlights from the presentation include: All patients had elevated pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and additional immune modulators that steadily decreased following Allocetra treatment. Study subjects had a mortality rate of 0% compared to a mortality rate of 27% in matched historical controls. Study subjects exhibited rapid resolution of organ dysfunction and had significantly shorter ICU stays compared to matched historical controls. No serious adverse events or definite treatment-related adverse events were reported with Allocetra treatment.

08:39 EDT Jaguar Health submits final 'major' filing for approval of Canalevia - Jaguar Health announced that it has submitted to the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, or CVM, what the Company expects is the final major regulatory filing to support approval of its oral plant-based drug candidate Canalevia to treat chemotherapy-induced diarrhea, or CID, in dogs. The company said in a release, "According to current estimates, more than 230,000 dogs in the U.S. receive chemotherapy treatment for various cancers each year, and roughly one in four will experience diarrhea as a side effect of treatment. There currently is no FDA-approved anti-secretory prescription product to manage this debilitating diarrhea in dogs. In addition to CID, Jaguar also is seeking conditional approval to market Canalevia for exercise-induced diarrhea in dogs."

08:38 EDT Ehang appoints Dongming Wu to board of directors - EHang Holdings announced that Dongming Wu has been appointed as a new director to the Company's board of directors, effective June 1, 2020. Dongming Wu will also serve as a member of the Board's audit committee. The Board has reviewed the independence of Mr. Wu and determined that he satisfied the "independence" requirements under Rule 10A-3 of the United States Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules. Effective June 1, 2020, the Board's audit committee will consist of three independent directors: Mr. Conor Chia-hung Yang, Mr. Dongming Wu and Mr. Haoxiang Hou. Dongming Wu has served as a Managing Director of DHL-Sinotrans since May 2003.

08:35 EDT General Cannabis receives regulatory approval for Cannasseur acquisition - General Cannabis announced that the State of Colorado's Marijuana Enforcement Division has granted it regulatory approval to complete the acquisition of Cannasseur, subject to approval by local regulators. Cannasseur is a vertically integrated Colorado licensee with a recreational dispensary, an oil extraction facility, and a 12,000 square foot light deprivation greenhouse cultivation facility in Pueblo West, Colorado. The acquisition, upon completion, would increase General Cannabis' revenue, EBITDA and cash flow.

08:33 EDT Corning, Pfizer announce supply agreement for Corning Valor Glass Packaging - Corning Incorporated (GLW) and Pfizer (PFE) announced the execution of a long-term purchase and supply agreement for Corning Valor Glass. The multiyear agreement provides for the supply of Valor Glass vials to a portion of currently marketed Pfizer drug products, pending regulatory approval. Since first launching its collaboration with Corning, Pfizer has continued to evaluate Valor Glass' performance across several aseptic sites, utilizing multiple vial sizes, with a broad range of drug products from Pfizer's sterile injectables portfolio. During this time, Valor Glass was accepted into and provisionally evaluated under the Food and Drug Administration's Emerging Technology Program.

08:19 EDT ARCA Biopharma announces AB201 development program for coagulopathy - ARCA biopharma announced a new development program to evaluate AB201, a potent, selective inhibitor of tissue factor as a potential treatment for COVID-19 associated coagulopathy and the related inflammatory response. CAC is one of the most serious adverse effects seen in COVID-19 patients. AB201 has previously undergone clinical testing through Phase 2 in more than 700 patients for other indications, generating substantial safety data, which the Company believes may enable more rapid development. ARCA anticipates filing an Investigational New Drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the third quarter and initiating late-stage clinical testing in the second half of this year. TF is the protein responsible for initiating the primary or extrinsic coagulation pathway. TF has been identified as playing a central role in the inflammatory response to viral infections and in the process of viral dissemination. AB201, a single-chain, 85 amino acid, recombinant protein, has previously undergone Phase 1 and Phase 2 testing in more than 700 patients, including as an anti-thrombotic agent in the setting of acute myocardial infarction, where it showed efficacy in inhibiting the TF pathway and was well tolerated at therapeutic doses. Recent research suggests that the disease syndrome caused by coronavirus may have much in common with other coagulopathic disorders in which the blood's ability to coagulate is impaired by consumption of clotting factors. For example, filovirus infections such as Ebola and other hemorrhagic fevers are characterized by dysregulated activation of the TF pathway, resulting in abnormal systemic coagulation and related inflammation, leading to organ failure and mortality. Recent mechanistic discoveries, as well as data from studies in non-human primates given lethal doses of Ebola or Marburg filoviruses demonstrating mortality reductions, decreases in inflammatory biomarkers and reduction in viral load, indicate that AB201 may have important antiviral and anti-inflammatory activity in addition to its anticoagulant effects. Collectively, the Company believes these observations provide a strong rationale for investigating AB201 as a treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS CoV-2 virus. COVID-19 disease is associated with a significant incidence of coagulation-related adverse events, including stroke, MI, pulmonary emboli, and disseminated intravascular coagulation, a condition in which small blood clots develop throughout the bloodstream. A commonly used biomarker for assessing coagulation activation is a D-dimer test, which is elevated in approximately 50% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients and is directly associated with adverse clinical outcomes. In Ebola or Marburg NHP models, AB201 inhibited the DIC process, as measured by lowered D-dimer levels, which the Company believes provides further support for its therapeutic potential for CAC. The Company believes the efficacy of AB201 against COVID-19 disease may not be affected by potential mutations of the SARS CoV-2 virus, would be additive with therapeutics inhibiting virus-cell binding or viral RNA polymerase, and could be effective against other coagulopathy-associated viruses.The Company anticipates filing an IND application for AB201 as a potential treatment for COVID-19 with the FDA in the third quarter of this year. In collaboration with the Colorado Prevention Center, the University of Colorado's Academic Research Organization directed by Marc Bonaca, MD, a vascular and anti-coagulation clinical trialist, a Phase 2B/3 clinical trial protocol is being developed for hospitalized COVID-19 patients with elevated D-dimer levels. Pending FDA concurrence and obtaining trial funding, ARCA estimates initiating late-stage clinical testing of AB201 in the second half of 2020.

08:16 EDT Cardiff Oncology: FDA grants Fast Track Designation to onvansertib - Cardiff Oncology announced that the U.S. FDA granted Fast Track Designation to onvansertib, its oral and highly-selective Polo-like Kinase 1 inhibitor, for the second-line treatment of patients with KRAS-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer.

08:15 EDT Clovis announces updated NCCN guidelines for Rubraca tablets - Clovis announced that the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, or NCCN, updated its clinical practice guidelines in Oncology for Prostate Cancer to include new recommendations for Rubraca tablets. In addition to its ovarian cancer recommendations, Rubraca is now recommended in the NCCN Guidelines for the treatment of BRCA-mutant patients with mCRPC under second-line treatment and subsequent therapy as a Category 2A recommendation. Rucaparib is a treatment option for patients with mCRPC and a pathogenic BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation who have been treated with androgen receptor-directed therapy and a taxane-based chemotherapy. If the patient is not fit for chemotherapy, rucaparib can be considered even if taxane-based therapy has not been given. The NCCN prostate cancer panel's decision to include Rubraca as a Category 2A preferred option for the treatment of patients with a BRCA mutation for second-line treatment and subsequent therapy was based on the results of the Phase 2 TRITON2 study.

08:13 EDT Adtran enters partnership with NRTC - ADTRAN announced in a release that, through its Enabling Communities, Connecting Lives program, "it is empowering United Cooperative Services, or UCS, to deliver multi-gigabit services to the electric cooperative's membership in 14 counties across North Texas. Represented by the National Rural Telecommunications Council, or NRTC, UCS is a provider of high-performance broadband to previously underserved rural communities. UCS selected ADTRAN's 10G fiber access portfolio to build and manage a flexible and highly-scalable network and ADTRAN's Mosaic Device Manager to better manage end-to-end performance. This deployment supports the bandwidth-intensive applications its members will rely on to lead fully connected lives in a global Gigabit Economy."

08:13 EDT Blue Hat Interactive partners with Sutesen for AR immersive clases in China - Blue Hat Interactive has signed a three-year partnership with smart education service provider, Sutesen Information Technology, to expand Blue Hat's Smart Immersive Education Classes, or "AR Immersive Classes", in Guangxi province, China. The partnership aims to commercially launch ARIC in up to 1,000 Guangxi preschools in three years. The ARIC system encompasses the full collection of Blue Hat's educational products for teaching in China's preschools. As part of the 3-year exclusive distribution agreement, Blue Hat has authorized Sutesen as the exclusive distributor for the ARIC system in the Guangxi province. For each preschool which licenses a full set of the ARIC system, Blue Hat will receive a monthly subscription fee of approximately $570-$620 based on a multi-year contract.

08:12 EDT Versus Systems announces agreement with HP for in-game rewards - Versus Systems announced a new agreement with HP to bring its patented in-game rewards platform to a broader range of HP users. Following the successful installation of Versus-powered OMEN Rewards in OMEN Command Center, announced last August, HP will now include rewards software as a pre-installed feature in all OMEN and Pavilion Gaming desktops and laptops. The new agreement also includes expanding OMEN Command Center and OMEN Rewards into the gaming markets in China beginning this summer. OMEN Command Center is available for download by any Windows10 PC via the Windows Store. OMEN Rewards will allow everyone running the OMEN Command Center app to play their favorite games for real-world prizes, gift cards, trips and experiences. OMEN Rewards is the result of a multi-year collaboration with Versus Systems that has integrated their patented prizing platform into HP's OMEN Command Center.

08:10 EDT WPP enters global partnership with SuperAwesome - WPP and SuperAwesome announced a partnership to advance the standards of privacy for children in the global digital ecosystem. The companies said in a release, "Responding to ongoing shifts in children's online consumption patterns, WPP is the first company among its peers to set a benchmark for the highest standards in digital privacy and safety for kids, working in partnership with SuperAwesome. WPP agencies and clients will have access to the world-leading kidtech team at SuperAwesome and its kid-safe engagement platform and insights tools, including the company's highly regarded KidAware certification programme that ensures online engagement complies with the latest privacy legislation and advertising standards. The partnership builds on existing controls GroupM has helped to establish that excludes or minimises the risk of exposure to unsuitable content for children in social media."

08:09 EDT Capstone Turbine receives follow-on order for three C65 microturbines - Capstone Turbine announced that it has received an order for three C65 microturbines for "one of the largest oil and gas midstream operators based in North America." Capstone said in a release, "Lone Star Power Solutions, Capstone's exclusive distributor in Arizona, Texas and the Gulf States secured the order, which is expected to be commissioned in summer 2020."

08:08 EDT Honeywell launches Fast Track Automation for expedited vaccine development - Honeywell announced Fast Track Automation, a combination of proprietary technology innovations for the life sciences industry that enables vaccines, treatments and therapies to move from regulatory approval to full production in as little as two months depending on process requirements. The solution incorporates process automation elements that can be configured in a virtual environment, then implemented rapidly once a therapy is approved and ready to be produced for public distribution. Fast Track Automation is a response to the global COVID-19 outbreak.

08:05 EDT CNS Pharmaceuticals enters sponsored research agreement with MD Anderson - CNS Pharmaceuticals has entered into a sponsored research agreement with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center relating to potential cancer treatment technologies, including WP1244, a novel DNA binding agent. Waldemar Priebe, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in the Department of Experimental Therapeutics at MD Anderson, founder of CNS, will serve as Principal Investigator for the research project, in accordance with MD Anderson's conflict of interest policies.

08:04 EDT VBI Vaccines forms commercial advisory board - VBI Vaccines announced the formation of a commercial advisory board consisting of experts in public health policy, epidemiology and vaccine development. The board will work closely with VBI's management team on pre-commercialization and commercialization activities and strategy for the company's pipeline programs. Members of the commercial advisory board are Damian Braga, a member of the company's board who will act as chairperson, Eddy Bresnitz, Michael Decker and John Grabenstein.

08:02 EDT CVS Health establishes 1,000 COVID-19 test sites across the country - Delivering on a commitment the company made in April, CVS Health will open additional COVID-19 test sites at select CVS Pharmacy drive-thru locations on Friday, May 29 to establish a total of 1,000 sites across more than 30 states and Washington, DC.

08:00 EDT DraftKings Sportsbook expands partnership with Sportradar for live streaming - DraftKings Sportsbook has announced it will offer live-streamed sports games within its award-winning mobile app. In collaboration with Sportradar, the global provider of sports data and content, DraftKings Sportsbook will provide customers with a seamless entertainment experience in one convenient location. Pursuant to state regulations, DraftKings Sportsbook customers who are logged in to their active accounts and have a wallet balance above $0.00 will have the ability to live stream games directly within the mobile app. At launch, DraftKings Sportsbook geolocated customers will be able to live stream a number of sports, including the Korea Baseball Organization and Bundesliga Soccer across all jurisdictions except Iowa. With over 100 different leagues in total on the DraftKings platform and as additional sports leagues return to resume play, DraftKings Sportsbook will explore potential expansion opportunities of the live-stream functionality.

07:56 EDT Biogen, MIT launch virtual learning lab for high school students - Biogen is bringing its well-recognized Community Lab science learning program together with the Lemelson-MIT Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to launch the new online Biogen-MIT Biotech in Action: Virtual Summer Lab. This virtual lab will offer 400 Massachusetts and North Carolina high school students a first-hand experience in biotechnology and provide the opportunity to learn directly from, and be mentored by, leading scientists at Biogen and MIT. Most of the students are from low-income households and groups historically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math. Admission to the summer program is free for high school students grades 9 to 12, with preference given to underrepresented students in Massachusetts and North Carolina. Students are also recruited from several Biogen Foundation grant recipient programs, including the STAR Initiative, a program the Biogen Foundation launched in 2018 to help catalyze the development of local STEM ecosystems in Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts.

07:51 EDT 360 Finance appoints Dan Zhao to board of directors - 360 Finance announced that Dan Zhao has been appointed as a director on the board of directors of the Company, effective immediately. Dan Zhao is currently the vice president of 360 Group.

07:48 EDT Lantronix ConsoleFlow undergoes network penetration, source code testing - Lantronix announced that its ConsoleFlow cloud-based software-as-a-service solution has undergone extensive network penetration and source code testing by IntelligINTS, a leading cybersecurity testing and threat monitoring company. ConsoleFlow provides secure, centralized management for Lantronix IoT and Out-of-Band Management customer solutions from anywhere, at any time. ConsoleFlow delivers software-defined automation for deployment provisioning, asset monitoring, notifications, firmware and configuration updates and real-time troubleshooting. Customers can analyze device data, gaining insight and improving operational efficiency while virtually eliminating travel costs.

07:47 EDT Aimmune announces findings from APPEAL-1 study on peanut allergy impact - Aimmune announced that findings from APPEAL-1, a multi-dimensional pan-European study assessing the psychosocial effect and impact of living with peanut allergy, were published in Allergy, one of the official journals of European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The study, published in two parts, highlights the impact peanut allergy has on every aspect of allergic individuals' and their caregivers' lives, including the uncertainty they feel around how to manage frightening and debilitating reactions and concerns about the feasibility of ongoing avoidance. APPEAL-1 is the first and largest quantitative study to validate and bring attention to the burden and psychosocial impact with which allergic individuals and their caregivers are challenged in their daily lives. The findings illustrate the impact of living with the condition, and how attempting to avoid peanuts every day can be a major source of stress, fear and anxiety, clouded by the persistent worry of accidental exposure for both the allergic individual and their caregiver. The data also demonstrate that across Europe there is insufficient education for coping and living with the disease and the management of reactions. Ambiguity over how to use rescue medicine and the potential trauma of necessitating its use is an additional burden that people with peanut allergy currently face. The APPEAL-1 Part A data provide meaningful insights into the experience of those with peanut allergy related to their reactions and disease management. Of the 1,300 survey participants, 45% rate their worst allergy reactions as severe, and 31% require the use of rescue medicine and hospitalization for their worst reaction. Of this latter group, percentages are higher in younger age groups; 35% in children and 42% in teenagers, compared with 26% in adults. Despite this, more than a quarter had never been prescribed an adrenaline auto-injector, or AAI, and only 24% of all respondents received training on what to do in an emergency. Of those that had been prescribed an AAI, only a third had received training on how to use it. Overall, 87.4% report multiple symptoms during their worst allergic reactions, the most common symptoms included swelling, breathing difficulties/wheezing and itching mouth or throat tightness. Almost one third report gastrointestinal symptoms. Comorbidities are common, with 42%, 50% and 79% reporting comorbid allergic rhinitis, asthma, and other food allergy, respectively. Nearly half of all respondents describe living with the disease as "more" or "much more" expensive than living without the disease, pointing to a financial burden associated with managing peanut allergy. Most respondents note indirect costs associated with the extra time needed for planning day-to-day activities and special events. The APPEAL-1 Part B data show the impact on individuals' freedom of choice in daily activities; feelings and emotions; impacts of bullying, and their ability to cope with peanut allergy. Of the 1,846 survey respondents: 90% report feeling frustrated and stressed, with over a third having frequent feelings of anxiety. A total of 65% report feelings of isolation and 43% report experiencing bullying. Overall, 89% report feeling restricted on where to eat out and 84% feel limited on buying food. Moreover, respondents report limitations in other areas of their lives not related to food, such as choice of schools, socializing and going to special occasions. More than half worry about exposure during social occasions where food is not involved. Within these data, there are some cross-country differences observed. In Germany, the highest rates of anxiety are reported, nearly a third said they had coped "not at all well" with peanut allergy at first diagnosis and nearly all respondents report restrictions in socializing and holidays. In France, nearly all respondents state they are made to feel "different" in a negative way and 74% report feelings of isolation. More than half of respondents in the UK report being bullied about their peanut allergy. Confidence in recognizing allergic reaction symptoms and on how and when to use rescue medicine was low in Germany and France. In Germany, only 22% feel "extremely confident" in recognizing allergic reaction symptoms, and only 12% know when to use rescue medicine. In France, only 14% of respondents report knowing how to use it.

07:47 EDT Bank of America could potentially add to reserves in Q2, Moynihan says

07:46 EDT MacroGenics says ODAC meeting not required for margetuximab BLA - MacroGenics announced that during the recent mid-cycle communication with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the FDA notified the Company that it is no longer planning to hold an Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee meeting to discuss the Biologics License Application for margetuximab. The FDA also stated it continues to anticipate meeting the Prescription Drug User Fee Act goal date for the application review, which is December 18, 2020. MacroGenics is seeking approval of margetuximab, an investigational, Fc-engineered, monoclonal antibody that targets HER2, for the treatment of patients with pre-treated metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer in combination with chemotherapy.

07:45 EDT Bank of America CEO: Consumer spending broadening out

07:43 EDT Monro closes six stores during 4Q20 amid portfolio optimization - The Company announced that it closed six stores during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 as part of a planned portfolio optimization. Monro assessed its real estate portfolio and identified underperforming stores for closure as part of its Monro.Forward strategy. This adjustment was planned in accordance with its analytical model and is not in response to COVID-19. The Company expects to complete the optimization of its real estate portfolio with the closure of an additional 36 stores by the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2021. As a result of these 42 store closures, the Company recorded impairment costs of $4.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 and expects to incur approximately $2.5 million of store closure costs in the first quarter of fiscal 2021. The Company estimates that these store closures will improve operating income by approximately $5.1 million on an annual basis.

07:42 EDT Monro defers non-critical capex, temporarily pauses acquisition activity - The company said, "Government authorities' actions to curb the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in a substantial decrease in traffic since mid-March, which adversely impacted Monro's financial results in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 and has continued to significantly affect the Company's performance in the first quarter of the fiscal year ending March 27, 2021 to date. Monro is closely monitoring updates from local, federal and state officials. The Company's stores have been deemed essential services and continue to operate on reduced hours, even in states where "stay-at-home" orders remain in place. Monro's top priority continues to be the health and safety of its teammates and customers. To that end, the Company has implemented stringent safety protocols, robust sanitation and cleaning measures, contactless services, working remotely where possible and extended paid time-off for teammates who have been impacted by COVID-19. In response to COVID-19, the Company has implemented and continues to adjust comprehensive business contingency plans to ensure that its stores are operating efficiently. Given the prevailing uncertain market conditions, the Company has taken precautionary steps to further mitigate near-term headwinds and strengthen its financial position, including: deferring non-critical capital expenditures, including its store rebrand and reimage initiative; reducing store hours and store labor to match demand; reducing selling, general and administrative expenses; temporarily pausing acquisition activity; and bolstering its working capital position. To maximize its financial flexibility, the Company drew down the remaining $350 million from its revolving credit facility at the end of March. Cash and cash equivalents are approximately $375 million as of May 26, 2020. With a solid balance sheet and ample liquidity, Monro firmly believes it is well-positioned to navigate the current environment."

07:40 EDT Bank of America CEO: Stimulus checks helped consumer spending

07:38 EDT Bank of America CEO: Unemployment levels 'a concern'

07:37 EDT Abercrombie & Fitch says roughly half of global store base is open

07:36 EDT Kopin selected by L3Harris Technologies to supply LCD module for NGSW-FC program - Kopin (KOPN) has been selected by L3Harris (LHX) to supply its high-brightness liquid crystal display, or LCD, module for inclusion in the integrated rifle scope for the next generation squad weapon - Fire Control, or NGSW-FC, program. Kopin's display module is composed of a high-performance internally, designed VGA resolution LCD microdisplay with a specialized LED backlight and Kopin's driver board. The NGSW-FC is slated to replace the traditional direct view riflescopes currently fielded by the US Army. The NGSW-FC provides an integrated approach to targeting by combining range-finding capability, ballistic computation and environmental sensors that increase the probability of accurate targeting, while decreasing the time to engage a threat. The U.S. Army plans to procure up to 250,000 systems to support many of its current and future weapon platforms. This weapon system is for ordinary daylight situations and is in addition to the thermal weapon systems that Kopin is currently supplying. Deliveries of initial prototypes are expected to start Q3 and early production is expected to commence in mid-2021.

07:30 EDT 360 Finance sees 2020 loan origination volume RMB200B-RMB220B

07:24 EDT Computer Modelling Group reduces CEO's annual salary by 25% - The company said, "The health and safety of our employees, customers and communities is always a priority. In dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been following the advice of governments and local public health authorities in jurisdictions in which we operate. In mid-March 2020, amidst pandemic restrictions, CMG implemented procedures to enable us to continue to fully operate and minimize the impact to our business and customers. Fortunately, as a technology-based company, we were well positioned to maintain our productivity during and after a transition to working from home. We also adapted our customer training to online platforms and have since received a strong positive response from our current and prospective customers. The ongoing disruption to the oil and gas industry, including volatility in commodity prices and reduction in energy consumption, precipitated by the COVID-19 crisis, could potentially have a significant adverse effect on our operations and future financial performance. In response to these unprecedented times of economic disruption and uncertainty, effective July 1, 2020, CMG is pre-emptively taking the following actions to preserve liquidity, manage costs and protect shareholder value: reducing the CEO's annual salary by 25%; reducing directors' cash compensation by 20%; reducing executive officers' annual salaries by 20%; implementing graduated salary reductions to staff. These reductions are expected to continue throughout the fiscal year and will be reassessed following review of the fiscal 2021 results. The staff, executive and CEO's base salary concessions were reallocated to variable cash compensation associated with fiscal 2021 corporate performance. These compensation reductions were taken in part to retain employees because we are prioritizing product development and support, both of which are important to our customers and to the long-term success of our business. We are implementing these measures to protect CMG's profitability and optimize free cash flow generation to maintain the strength of our balance sheet. The measures will also allow for maximum flexibility in our capital allocation decisions, including focusing on delivering a sustainable dividend. At the same time, it is our intention to continue to invest in research and development, and sales and marketing efforts, at approximately similar levels as historically proportionate to revenue. CMG will continue to monitor the impact of the current environment on its customers, operations and financial performance and may adjust its compensation structure and capital allocation as appropriate. In light of the uncertainty caused by COVID-19 and ongoing challenges that we foresee in the oil and gas sector, it is prudent to take timely actions aimed at optimizing our business operations and protecting our financial position. We will continue to monitor the impact of the current environment on our operations and financial performance and consider the qualifying criteria and merits of applying for any government programs aimed at assisting companies to compensate for losses experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic."

07:20 EDT Canopy Rivers announces 'material reduction' in operating cash outflows - Canopy Rivers announced a series of operational changes designed to optimize its organizational structure, streamline operations, and preserve and maximize cash-on-hand. As part of its strategic and operational review of the business, the company announced the following changes: A material reduction in the company's operating cash outflows, including a reduction in headcount, directors' compensation, marketing expenses, and general corporate expenses of a minimum of 35% from the company's fiscal 2020 operating cash outflows on a normalized basis; A focus on generating positive cash flow from operations for fiscal 2021; and A focus on maximizing returns on existing assets. The company also reaffirms its intention, under its previously announced normal course issuer bid to repurchase subordinated voting shares in accordance with its NCIB. Pursuant to the previously announced NCIB, the company is permitted to repurchase up to 10% of the subordinated voting shares in the public float.

07:17 EDT Monro: COVID-19 to continue to adversely impact business, results - In a regulatory filing, Monro said "The spread of COVID-19 has created a global public health crisis that has resulted in widespread volatility and deteriorations in household, business, economic and market conditions. We have experienced negative impacts to demand for our products and services from the COVID-19 pandemic, which is adversely affecting our results of operations, and we have also experienced significant disruption to our normal business operations and planned implementation of certain strategic initiatives. Our business will continue to be affected by the broader economic effects from the COVID-19 pandemic and related regulatory actions, including customer demand for our products. While we have so far been able to source required materials and products at reasonable cost, the pandemic may also affect our supply chain in ways that are beyond our control. We may also incur costs or experience further disruption to comply with new or changing regulations in response to the pandemic. We are unable to estimate the impact of COVID-19 with certainty on our business and operations at this time. The pandemic could cause us to experience impairment of our goodwill and other financial assets, further reduce demand for our products and services and other adverse impacts on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows. Sustained adverse effects may also prevent us from satisfying financial covenants in our credit agreement or result in downgrades in our credit ratings. We maintain good relationships with our lenders and have had discussions with those lenders regarding the impact of COVID-19 on our financial performance. If necessary, we intend to pursue an amendment to our credit agreement to prevent any negative impact on our financial covenants, but there can be no assurance that this will prove successful."

07:16 EDT Monro delaying annual report on Form 10-K due to COVID-19 disruptions - In a regulatory filing, Monro said it is delaying the filing of its Annual Report on Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended March 28, 2020 due to circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, COVID-19 has caused severe disruptions in company operations including limited access to and support from Monro's accounting staff, causing a delay in the company's ability to complete the 2020 10-K. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the company expects to file the 2020 10-K on or about June 15, 2020, but in any event, within the 45 day time period permitted by the Release.

07:14 EDT Moderna study of COVID-19 vaccine now recruiting, clinicaltrials.gov site shows - A post, dated May 28, to the website clinicaltrials.gov indicates that Moderna's clinical study to assess the safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity of 2 dose levels of mRNA-1273 SARS-COV-2 vaccine in adults 18 years of age or older is now recruiting. Reference Link

07:13 EDT Facebook CEO Zuckerberg: People are going to spend a lot less time commuting

07:12 EDT Facebook CEO Zuckerberg: Travel is going to have issues for long time

07:11 EDT Dollar General reports Q1 cash flows from operations increased 202.4% to $1.7B

07:10 EDT Akcea, Ionis announce publication of long-term data of TEGSEDI - Akcea Therapeutics (AKCA) and Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (IONS), announced publication of long-term data from the open-label extension of the pivotal NEURO-TTR study of TEGSEDI in patients with hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis with polyneuropathy. The primary objective of the OLE study was to evaluate the safety and tolerability of long-term dosing with TEGSEDI. Secondary objectives of the study included understanding progression based on measures such as the modified Neuropathy Impairment Score +7 and the Norfolk Quality of Life Questionnaire-Diabetic Neuropathy. Understanding changes over time in generic health-related quality of life based on the Short Form 36 Health Survey was an exploratory objective. This interim analysis, published in the European Journal of Neurology, show that treatment with TEGSEDI was not associated with additional safety concerns or signs of increased toxicity in study participants treated for up to five years. Treatment with TEGSEDI resulted in continued efficacy in patients after two years. Results also showed that patients who started treatment with TEGSEDI earlier achieved greater long-term disease stabilization compared to those who switched from placebo to TEGSEDI in the OLE study. hATTR amyloidosis is an under-recognized, debilitating and progressive disease that is caused by the buildup of TTR proteins that misfold due to inherited mutations. It is characterized by the deposition of amyloid fibrils throughout the body including in nervous tissue and can have a devastating impact on patients' quality of life. TEGSEDI is a once-weekly, at-home subcutaneous injection that targets the polyneuropathy of hATTR amyloidosis at its source by reducing production of the TTR protein. Results from the pivotal, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled NEURO-TTR study demonstrated that hATTR amyloidosis patients treated with TEGSEDI experienced significant benefit compared to patients treated with placebo across both co-primary endpoints: mNIS+7, a measure of neuropathic disease progression and the Norfolk QoL-DN. At the end of the study, participants were given the opportunity to enroll in the OLE study and continue treatment with TEGSEDI or switch from placebo. Of the 139 patients who completed the NEURO-TTR study, 135 participants continued in the OLE study. Among those who participated in the ongoing OLE study, 85 continued to receive TEGSEDI and 50 switched from placebo to TEGSEDI. No new safety concerns were identified in patients treated with TEGSEDI in the OLE study. There was also no evidence of increased risk for grade 4 thrombocytopenia or acute glomerulonephritis with increased duration of exposure to TEGSEDI. Regular, required platelet and renal monitoring proved to be effective in managing patients' risk. The most common adverse events include nausea, urinary tract infection, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, peripheral edema, injection site pain and thrombocytopenia. Overall, 19 patients discontinued TEGSEDI due to treatment-emergent adverse events. Nine patients died during the OLE study but none of the deaths were considered related to TEGSEDI. Patients administered TEGSEDI throughout the NEURO-TTR and OLE studies experienced substantial reductions in TTR protein levels compared to their baseline from the NEURO-TTR study. In addition, those treated with TEGSEDI for 39 cumulative months in the NEURO-TTR and OLE studies showed sustained benefit compared to the predicted worsening with placebo. Likewise, those patients who switched from placebo to TEGSEDI demonstrated sustained improvement of neurologic disease progression and quality of life as measured by the mNIS+7, the Norfolk QoL-DN, and the SF-36 Physical Component Summary score compared with a continued predicted worsening with placebo. Finally, patients treated earlier with TEGSEDI achieved greater benefit in mNIS+7 and Norfolk QoL-DN compared to patients who switched from placebo to TEGSEDI in the OLE study, highlighting the importance of early commencement of TEGSEDI in appropriate patients.

07:07 EDT WindMIL doses first patient in Phase 2 study of MILs in combo w/ nivolumab - WindMIL Therapeutics announced that the first patient has been dosed in the combination therapy portion of its Phase 2 clinical trial to assess the safety and efficacy of MILs - NSCLC in patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer who are refractory to, or have relapsed on, an anti-PD-1-containing regimen. The first combination therapy dosing took place at Sarah Cannon Research Institute. The open-label, multi-center study will assess MILs - NSCLC in combination with nivolumab, an anti-PD-1 product. MILs - NSCLC is an adoptive cell therapy produced via WindMIL's proprietary process to activate, transform and expand T cells derived from the bone marrow of patients with NSCLC. Nivolumab is being provided by Bristol Myers Squibb Company as part of a clinical research collaboration. WindMIL plans to treat approximately 20 patients with MILs - NSCLC plus nivolumab. The study's primary endpoint is objective response rate, with duration of response, progression-free survival and overall survival serving as secondary endpoints. Second and third line patients who have failed an anti- PD-1 containing regimen have limited treatment options, with approved therapies having limited activity. Clinical paradigms have shown increased functionality, and decreased exhaustion, of T cells when exposed to anti-PD1.

07:05 EDT Cerecor announces FDA clearance of IND for CERC-002 - Cerecor announced that it has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to proceed with a proof-of-concept clinical trial of its anti-LIGHT monoclonal antibody CERC-002 in patients with COVID-19 cytokine storm induced Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. The study will assess the efficacy and safety of CERC-002. The first patient is expected to enroll in June and top-line data are expected in the fourth quarter of 2020. The randomized, multi-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial will enroll approximately 82 subjects hospitalized with COVID-19 ARDS. The primary objective of the study is to demonstrate that treatment with CERC-002 results in fewer instances of respiratory failure and death versus the standard of care. Patients in the CERC-002 arm will receive a single dose of drug and be followed for 28 days. Key secondary endpoints include ICU length of stay, hospital length of stay and oxygen saturation at the end of study. The scientific rationale for the study was driven by positive results from a recent biomarker study conducted with Hackensack Meridian Health Network demonstrating elevated levels of the inflammatory cytokine LIGHT in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 cytokine storm-induced ARDS. In the patients studied, LIGHT levels were significantly elevated in the serum of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 versus healthy controls. The highest LIGHT levels were found in patients who required ventilator support, particularly in patients over 60 years of age. Importantly, the data demonstrated elevated LIGHT levels were also strongly linked with mortality. The data suggest that LIGHT may play a key role in cytokine storm that leads to ARDS. CERC-002 is a first in class monoclonal antibody targeted against the inflammatory cytokine LIGHT. It is the only anti-LIGHT therapy in clinical development and has the potential to be a treatment option for this patient population in critical need.

07:05 EDT Endeavour Silver restarts mining operations in Mexico - Endeavour Silver has restarted mining operations at its three high-grade, underground silver-gold mines in Mexico. The company filed its mine operating and health plans with, and received approvals from, the Secretariat of Health in Mexico to recommence mining operations. The mines and plants are currently ramping up activities to achieve normal operations and exploration crews will restart mapping, sampling and drilling programs in June. At each mine, the plants have started processing ore stockpiles in order to quickly ramp up to their capacities while the mines catch up on stope development and ore extraction. At Guanacevi, plant personnel installed two rebuilt cone crushers during the suspension period to allow the plant to return to its 1,200 ton per day capacity in June. At Bolanitos, mine personnel are completing development of the San Miguel orebody over the next two months so that the plant can reach 1,100 tpd before the end of Q2. At El Compas, the plant has commenced processing of the low-grade stockpile while the mine ramps up ore extraction to 250 tpd over the next month.

07:02 EDT Canopy Rivers announces 'material reduction' in operating cash flows - Canopy Rivers announced a series of operational changes designed to optimize its organizational structure, streamline operations, and preserve and maximize cash-on-hand. As part of its strategic and operational review of the business, the company announced the following changes: A material reduction in the company's operating cash outflows, including a reduction in headcount, directors' compensation, marketing expenses, and general corporate expenses of a minimum of 35% from the company's fiscal 2020 operating cash outflows on a normalized basis; A focus on generating positive cash flow from operations for fiscal 2021; and A focus on maximizing returns on existing assets. The company also reaffirms its intention, under its previously announced normal course issuer bid to repurchase subordinated voting shares in accordance with its NCIB. Pursuant to the previously announced NCIB, the company is permitted to repurchase up to 10% of the subordinated voting shares in the public float.

06:59 EDT LabCorp partners with Medable to decentralize clinical trials - LabCorp's drug development business, Covance, is expanding its technology ecosystem to accelerate the adoption of decentralized clinical trials, often referred to as hybrid and virtual clinical trials. Covance is expanding its decentralized trials technology ecosystem through an alliance with Medable, a software provider for digital clinical trials. The Covance patient and site interface will be powered by Medable's modular software platform, providing access to applications that will allow patients to participate in decentralized clinical trials. The platform will also enable data and system interoperability, facilitate remote data collection and engagement between patients, sites, and clinical investigators.

06:57 EDT Dollar General sees FY20 CapEx $925M-$975M - Dollar General said, "The company realized a significant sales benefit in the first quarter of the fiscal year as a result of COVID-19. In addition, since the end of the first quarter, the company has continued to experience elevated demand in its stores, albeit with slightly more variability and some moderation in recent days. As a result, through May 26, 2020, same-store sales have increased approximately 22% as compared to the comparable period in the 2019 fiscal year. Due to the significant uncertainty that continues to exist around the severity and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, including its impact on the U.S. economy, consumer behavior and the Company's business, there is a lack of visibility for the remainder of 2020 with many unknowns. As a result, it is difficult to predict specific outcomes. While the Company expects it will exceed the fiscal 2020 net sales, same-store sales and diluted EPS guidance that was issued on March 12, 2020, the Company is not able to forecast the extent of such upside for the reasons mentioned above and accordingly is withdrawing the guidance issued on March 12, 2020. However, for fiscal year 2020, the Company continues to plan for: Capital expenditures in the range of $925 million to $975 million, including those related to investments in the Company's strategic initiatives Approximately 2,600 real estate projects, including 1,000 new store openings, 1,500 mature store remodels, and 80 store relocations. In addition, the Company currently intends to resume share repurchase activity as soon as management determines it is prudent and advisable to do so, which may be as early as the 2020 second quarter."

06:54 EDT Burlington Stores lowers FY20 CapEx view to ~$260M from $400M - The company now expects to open 64 new stores, while relocating or closing 26 stores, for a total of 38 net new stores in Fiscal 2020. This compares to a previous plan of 80 new stores and 54 net new stores. A total of 16 new stores have been shifted from Fall 2020 to Spring 2021; Depreciation & amortization, exclusive of favorable lease costs, is now expected to be approximately $230 million vs. previous outlook of $235 million; and Interest expense, net of non-cash interest of $24 million on convertible notes, is expected to be $80 million vs. previous guidance of $45 million.

06:52 EDT Burlington Stores reports Q1 gross margin 2% vs. 41% last year

06:50 EDT Burlington Stores 'not prepared' to give FY20 guidance - Burlington Stores said, "Given the uncertainty surrounding the pace of the recovery of consumer demand, the company is not prepared to give sales and earnings guidance for Fiscal 2020 at this time."

06:38 EDT Nissan unveils transformation plan to achieve profitability by end of FY23 - Nissan unveiled a four-year plan to achieve sustainable growth, financial stability and profitability by the end of fiscal-year 2023. The scalable plan, involving cost-rationalization and business optimization, will shift the company's strategy from its past focus on inflated expansion. As part of the four-year plan, Nissan will take decisive action to transform its business by streamlining unprofitable operations and surplus facilities, alongside structural reforms. The company will also reduce fixed costs by rationalizing its production capacity, global product range and expenses. By implementing the plan, Nissan aims to achieve a 5% operating profit margin and a sustainable global market share of 6% by the end of fiscal year 2023, including proportionate contributions from its 50% equity joint venture in China. Actions include: Right-sizing Nissan's production capacity by 20% to 5.4 million units a year under the assumption of a standard shift operation; Achieving plant utilization rate above 80%, making operations more profitable; Rationalizing the global product line-up by 20%; Reducing fixed costs by approximately 300 billion yen; Intend to close Barcelona plant in Western Europe; Consolidating North American production around core models; Closure of manufacturing facility in Indonesia and concentrating on Thailand plant as single production base in ASEAN; Alliance partners to share resources, including production, models, and technologies.

06:36 EDT Canadian Solar appoints Yan Zhuang as COO - Yan Zhuang, who was serving as acting CEO, was appointed as president and COO of Canadian Solar, effective immediately. Qu added, "I am pleased to announce that Yan Zhuang has been appointed as President and Chief Operating Officer of Canadian Solar, ceasing to be Acting CEO. In this position, Yan will continue to oversee the business operations of both the Company's Module and System Solutions and Energy businesses. I am grateful for Yan's leadership during my recovery period and look forward to continuing to work closely with him in the future."

06:32 EDT Toronto-Dominion reports Q2 provision for credit losses C$3.22B

06:14 EDT GlaxoSmithKline intends to produce 1B doses of pandemic vaccine adjuvant in 2021 - GSK confirmed its intention to manufacture 1 billion doses of its pandemic vaccine adjuvant system, in 2021, to support the development of multiple adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine candidates. GSK believes that its pandemic adjuvant technology could make a significant contribution against COVID-19. As demonstrated in the last flu pandemic, GSK's pandemic adjuvant can reduce the amount of vaccine protein required per dose, which allows more vaccine doses to be produced, contributing to protecting more people. Additionally, an adjuvant can enhance the immune response and has been shown to create a stronger and longer-lasting immunity against infections. Confirmation of the enhanced manufacturing capacity follows completion of a review conducted across the company's global supply network. GSK will manufacture, fill and finish adjuvant for use in COVID-19 vaccines at sites in the UK, US, Canada and Europe. Roger Connor, President, GSK Global Vaccines, said: "We believe that more than one vaccine will be needed to address this global pandemic and we are working with partners around the world to do so. We believe that our innovative pandemic adjuvant technology has the potential to help improve the efficacy and scale up of multiple COVID-19 vaccines. With this significant expansion in our manufacturing capacity, we can help deliver up to 1 billion doses of adjuvanted vaccines through 2021, helping protect many more people and support the global effort to fight COVID-19." Given the unprecedented need to develop COVID-19 vaccines, GSK has started manufacture of the adjuvant at risk. The company is in discussions with Governments and global institutions about funding for production and supply of the adjuvant. Overall GSK does not expect to profit from sales of its portfolio of collaborations for COVID-19 vaccines made during this pandemic phase, as profit generated will be invested in support of coronavirus related research and long-term pandemic preparedness, either through GSK's internal investments, or with external partners.

06:12 EDT KBR awarded energy efficiency opportunities study at GLNG by Santos - KBR announced that it has been awarded an energy efficiency opportunities study at Gladstone LNG, or GLNG, by Santos, an energy group in Australia. Building on KBR's portfolio within the LNG sector, the study seeks to explore opportunities to improve the overall energy efficiency of the plant and reduce CO2 emissions associated with the GLNG liquefaction facility. KBR will assist GLNG in identifying and screening potential modifications to enhance the operational facility through improvements of thermal efficiency while also accounting for the associated reduction in carbon emissions. This project will leverage the specialist energy, decarbonization and process optimization skills of KBR's strategic and advisory consulting team.

06:11 EDT Triumph Group up 8.8% after reporting Q4 results

06:07 EDT Illumina, other investors to invest $70M in Ginkgo Bioworks for COVID-19 testing - Ginkgo Bioworks is announcing a $70M investment from Illumina and existing Ginkgo investors, General Atlantic and Viking Global Investors. This will enable Ginkgo to build the infrastructure that could enable rapid epidemic response. Large-scale testing is essential for slowing the spread of viruses; for COVID-19, experts suggest millions of tests are needed per day in the United States to control this epidemic. Ginkgo aims to achieve scale with its automation capabilities, leveraging Illumina's next-generation sequencing, or NGS, technology to enable widespread testing for COVID-19. Originally designed for sequencing the 3 billion base pair human genome, NGS equipment can read, process and analyze many DNA and RNA samples in parallel on one machine. These machines can be utilized to detect the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, enabling tens of thousands of tests to be run at the same time on equipment the size of a washing machine. Coupled with Ginkgo's hardware and software that is designed for the large-scale automation of biological experiments, NGS has the potential to significantly increase COVID-19 testing capacity, contributing to the testing volume that many public health experts believe is necessary for slowing the spread of the virus. Ginkgo is deploying its resources toward building an epidemic monitoring and diagnostic testing facility in its Boston Seaport labs, developing processes that use Illumina's NGS technology for large-scale testing, in addition to whole genome sequencing and environmental monitoring. Currently in an early build phase, Ginkgo aims to have NGS-based testing capacity available to help reopen schools and businesses. Additionally, Ginkgo has already made its current NGS capacity available at no cost to public health departments across the U.S.

06:03 EDT Lumber Liquidators appoints Charles Tyson as CEO - Lumber Liquidators announced that Charles Tyson has been named President and CEO, and has been appointed to the company's board, effective May 27. Tyson was appointed Interim President and Principal Executive Officer on February 5. Tyson will report to the board. Tyson joined the company in June 2018 as Chief Customer Experience Officer and has been leading the company's merchandising and marketing, consumer and pro sales, installation, supply chain, distribution and store operations.

05:59 EDT Twitter CEO defends decision to fact check President Trump's tweets - Twitter (TWTR) CEO Jack Dorsey defended the platform's decision to fact check and place warnings on two of President Trump's tweets this week after Facebook (FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg told Fox News that privately-owned digital platforms should not act as the "arbiter of truth." Dorsey said via Twitter: "Fact check: there is someone ultimately accountable for our actions as a company, and that's me. Please leave our employees out of this. We'll continue to point out incorrect or disputed information about elections globally. And we will admit to and own any mistakes we make. This does not make us an 'arbiter of truth.' Our intention is to connect the dots of conflicting statements and show the information in dispute so people can judge for themselves. More transparency from us is critical so folks can clearly see the why behind our actions." Reference Link

05:35 EDT Genentech, Gilead initiate Phase III clinical trial of Actemra plus remdesivir - Genentech, a member of the Roche Group (RHHBY), announced the initiation of a global Phase III, randomized, double-blind, multicenter study (REMDACTA) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Actemra plus the investigational antiviral remdesivir, versus placebo plus remdesivir in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia, in collaboration with Gilead Sciences (GILD). Genentech said in a release, "The study is expected to begin enrolling in June with a target of approximately 450 patients globally, including the United States, Canada and Europe. In addition to REMDACTA, Genentech is close to completing enrollment of the global randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase III clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intravenous Actemra plus standard of care, or SOC, versus placebo plus SOC in hospitalized adult patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. The first patient was randomized on April 3. In total, approximately 450 patients will be enrolled in COVACTA. This increase from the original target of 330 patients will allow for even more robust data, while minimally extending the recruitment period. Actemra is not currently approved for this use by the FDA. Genentech is committed to sharing data from the COVACTA study as soon as possible this summer. In addition, the protocol for COVACTA allows the inclusion of patients who are being treated with antivirals, including investigational antivirals. Data from the REMDACTA trial are designed to supplement the COVACTA study. The COVACTA study is conducted in collaboration with the FDA and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, a part of the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, or ASPR. Genentech is also a participant in the Accelerated COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines, or ACTIV, partnership, led by the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, and the Foundation of the NIH. Genentech has also initiated a national Phase III double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial that will focus on recruiting approximately 375 patients at trial sites known to provide critical care to underserved and minority populations that often do not have access to clinical trials."