Stockwinners Market Radar for June 10, 2020 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:42 EDT Spirit AeroSystems says Boeing directed to pause further work on 737Max shipsets - Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) states that on June 4th, the company received a letter from Boeing (BA) directing Spirit to pause additional work on four 737 MAX shipsets and avoid starting production on sixteen 737 MAX shipsets to be delivered in 2020, until otherwise directed by Boeing, in order to "support Boeing's alignment of near-term delivery schedules to its customers' needs in light of COVID-19's impact on air travel and airline operations, and in order to mitigate the expenditure of potential unnecessary production costs." Based on the information in the letter, subsequent correspondence from Boeing dated June 9, 2020, and Spirit's discussions with Boeing regarding 2020 737 MAX production, Spirit says it "believes there will be a reduction to Spirit's previously disclosed 2020 737 MAX production plan of 125 shipsets. Spirit does not yet have definitive information on what the magnitude of the reduction will be but expects it will be more than 20 shipsets." As a result of these findings, Spirit "elected to place certain Wichita hourly employees directly associated with production work and support functions for the 737 MAX program on a 21 calendar day unpaid temporary layoff/furlough effective Monday, June 15. In addition, Spirit will declare an immediate reduction of the hourly workforce in Tulsa and McAlester, Okla., effective Friday, June 12."

20:06 EDT AB InBev, Craft Brew Alliance provide update on proposed expanded partnership - As the two brewing companies work toward completing the expansion of their relationship, Craft Brew Alliance (BREW), and Anheuser-Busch (BUD) announced an update to their proposed expanded partnership first announced last November in which A-B agreed to purchase the remaining CBA shares it does not already own. To expedite the regulatory review process and alleviate potential regulatory concerns regarding the proposed expanded partnership, CBA and A-B have agreed to the purchase of CBA's Kona Brewing operations in Hawaii by PV Brewing Partners. The arrangement with PV Brewing is contingent on the closing of the proposed expanded partnership between CBA and A-B, at which point PV Brewing will purchase CBA's Kona Brewing operations in Hawaii, including the new brewery and two brewpubs. The arrangement does not include CBA's Kona business outside of Hawaii. CBA and A-B continue to expect the closing of the expanded partnership to occur no later than the end of 2020, after receipt of required regulatory clearance and satisfaction of other customary conditions.

19:27 EDT Disneyland Resort to begin phased reopening July 9, theme parks to open July 17 - In a blog post, "Disney Parks, Experiences and Products announced proposed plans for a phased reopening of the Disneyland Resort. Pending state and local government approvals, Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa and Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel plan to reopen on July 23, and Disneyland park and Disney California Adventure park will plan to reopen on July 17. Additionally, Downtown Disney District will begin reopening on July 9. Because theme park capacity will be significantly limited to comply with governmental requirements and promote physical distancing, the Disneyland Resort will manage attendance through a new theme park reservation system that will require all guests, including Annual Passholders, to obtain a reservation for park entry in advance." Reference Link

18:41 EDT Northrop Grumman elects David Abney to board of directors - Northrop Grumman (NOC) announced it has elected David Abney to its board of directors. Abney is the executive chairman of the UPS (UPS) board of directors, and served as the CEO of UPS from 2014 until May 2020.

18:26 EDT Enstar Group announces recapialization of StarStone U.S. - Enstar Group has agreed to a recapitalization of StarStone U.S. Holdings led by SkyKnight Capital, Dragoneer Investment and Aquiline Capital. The Investors have committed $610M in new equity capital which, together with the rollover of Enstar's existing ownership, and an additional equity commitment of over $20M from management, will increase the equity capitalization of StarStone U.S. to over $850M . Enstar will receive a combination of cash consideration and shares in the recapitalized StarStone U.S, valued at a modest premium to book value. As part of the capital infusion, a new management team and Board of Directors will be appointed to StarStone U.S. Jeff Consolino will be CEO and Ed Noonan will be Executive Chairman. The new Board of Directors will include Noonan and Consolino; Paul O'Shea and Robert Campbell from Enstar; Steve DeCarlo; Matthew Ebbel, Managing Partner of SkyKnight; Marc Stad, Managing Partner of Dragoneer; and Chris Watson, Partner of Aquiline. In conjunction with the capital infusion, one of Enstar's wholly owned subsidiaries will enter into a combination loss portfolio and adverse development cover reinsurance agreement with StarStone U.S. The recapitalization is expected to close in the second half of 2020 after obtaining customary regulatory approvals. Jeff Consolino was most recently CFO of American Financial Group. He was previously a founding executive of Validus Holdings where he served as President and CFO. Enstar also announced that StarStone International has contributed its renewal rights to Atrium Underwriters, which manages Lloyd's Syndicate 609. International business not assumed by Atrium will be placed into an orderly run-off. With the signing of the transaction, John Hendrickson stepped down from his role as StarStone Group CEO.

17:40 EDT GrubHub up 8% after Bloomberg report of Just Eat Takeaway buyout offer - In after-hours trading, shares jumped 8% to $63.70.

17:36 EDT Conrad Industries in pact to build Hopper Dredge with Great Lakes Dredge - Conrad Industries announced that its subsidiary, Conrad Shipyard, has entered into a contract to construct a 6,500-cubic-yard-capacity Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge with Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation. The contract gives Great Lakes the option to build an additional dredge should market conditions warrant. The dredge will be constructed at the Deepwater South shipyard in Amelia, LA with expected delivery in the first quarter of 2023. Johnny Conrad, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer commented, "Great Lakes has been a valued customer of Conrad, and we are honored to have been chosen to construct this highly automated vessel to complement Great Lakes' existing fleet. We look forward to working with the Great Lakes' team to provide another quality vessel to serve the US dredging market." Conrad Industries, Inc., established in 1948 and headquartered in Morgan City, Louisiana, designs, builds and overhauls tugboats, ferries, liftboats, barges, offshore supply vessels and other steel and aluminum products for both the commercial and government markets. The company provides both repair and new construction services at its five shipyards located in southern Louisiana and Texas.

17:25 EDT General Dynamics awarded $104.21M Navy contract - General Dynamics was awarded a $104.21M cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost-no-fee contract for FY20-FY23 Columbia and Dreadnought ballistic missile submarine class development, production and installation requirement. Work is expected to be complete by November 2024. FY20 shipbuilding and conversion funds in the amount of $26.39M; United Kingdom funds in the amount of $10.73M and FY20 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $2.21M are obligated on this award, and no funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is being awarded to the contractor on a sole-source basis under 10 U.S. Code 2304 and four were previously synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities website. Strategic Systems Programs is the contracting activity.

17:19 EDT Zynex to replace Kemet in S&P 600 at open on 6/16 - Yageo Corp. is acquiring KEMET in a deal expected to be completed on or about June 15 pending final conditions.

17:14 EDT Tailored Brands spikes higher after providing business update - Tailored Brands spiked up as high as $2.00 per share in after hours trading after providing business update. Tailored Brands is currently up 17% or 21c to $1.45 per share in after-hours trading.

17:11 EDT American Financial Group CFO Joseph Consolino resigns - American Financial Group has accepted the resignation of Joseph Consolino, AFG's CFO, effective June 12. Consolino will be leaving AFG to pursue another opportunity in the insurance industry. In connection with this transition, Consolino will step down from AFG's Board of Directors effective June 12.

16:54 EDT Riot Blockchain provides May production update - Riot Blockchain announced the relocation of its 4,000 Bitmain S17 Pro miners from Oklahoma City to Coinmint's facility, in Massena, New York. The Coinmint energy pricing and hosting arrangement is expected to significantly decrease the direct cost of BTC production as compared to Riot's Oklahoma City operation, while also appreciably increasing mining uptime. Additionally, Riot now has a clear path forward to continue expanding its total hashing capacity. During May and early June, Riot relocated 4,000 Bitmain S17 Pros to Massena, New York. To date, 75% of the miners have been deployed, and all miners are expected to be fully deployed by June 15. On May 11, the BTC halving occurred, which halves the rate at which new BTC are awarded. The halving decreased each block reward from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC. The halving affects both the production and future supply of BTC. In consideration of low operating efficiencies due to the halving, all of the Company's remaining prior generation Bitmain S9 miners were taken off-line and have since been sold. Riot now operates approximately 4,000 Bitmain S17 Pros with an aggregate hashing power capacity of 248 Petahash per second. Once additional 3,040 Bitmain S19 Pro miners have been received and deployed, Riot estimates that its fleet of 7,040 next generation miners will produce an aggregate hashing power capacity of approximately 567 PH/s, representing a 129% increase over the company's current hash rate. These recent miner purchases were funded using available working capital.

16:49 EDT Northern Oil and Gas to acquire 320 acres from WPX Energy for $1.5M - Northern Oil and Gas (NOG) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire approximately 320 acres of core Williston Basin properties operated by WPX Energy (WPX). Total consideration at closing will consist of $1.5M in cash for the acreage, subject to customary adjustments. Closing is expected on July 1. Since signing, Northern has received 9 gross well proposals to fully develop the unit consisting of 2.1 net wells. Northern expects approximately $12.5m of development capital through 2020 and early 2021, with expected initial sales in Q1 of 2021. The acquired assets are expected to produce 1,200 barrels of oil equivalent, or Boe, per day and produce an estimated $11.3M of unhedged cash flow from operations in 2021 at the current commodity pricing strip as of June 5. Inclusive of the development capital and acquisition costs, Northern expects a payback period of under 1.5 years. All acquisition and associated development capital has already been accounted for in Northern's recent 2020 capital budget. In addition, Northern entered into additional crude oil derivative swaption transactions to hedge a portion of the production associated with this and other transactions at an average of $45.48 per barrel for 2021 for 1,500 barrels per day. That average price is approximately $3.85 higher than the underlying strip price used to calculate the estimated cash flow stream described above

16:37 EDT Virtus Investment reports preliminary total AUM $105.3B as of May 31

16:33 EDT PennyMac Financial increases stock repurchase authorization to $500M - PennyMac Financial announced that its board has approved the repurchase of 6,975,323 shares of common stock, representing the remaining PFSI shares owned by The BlackRock Foundation, at a price of $34 per share. In conjunction with this transaction, PFSI's board also approved an increase to its stock repurchase authorization from $50M to $500M of outstanding common stock, including approximately $31M remaining under the initial stock repurchase authorization.Following completion of the transaction, PFSI will have up to $244M remaining authorization for future repurchases.

16:32 EDT PennyMac Financial increases stock buyback to $500M from $50M - PennyMac Financial announced that its board has approved the repurchase of 6,975,323 shares of common stock, representing the remaining PFSI shares owned by The BlackRock Foundation, at a price of $34 per share. In conjunction with this transaction, PFSI's Board also approved an increase to its stock repurchase authorization from $50 million to $500 million of outstanding common stock, including approximately $31 million remaining under the initial stock repurchase authorization. Following completion of the transaction, PFSI will have up to $244 million remaining authorization for future repurchases.

16:26 EDT Victory Capital reports AUM $127.7B on May 31

16:21 EDT Cboe Global Markets announces additional $250M share repurchase plan - Cboe Global Markets announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the company to repurchase up to an additional $250M of its outstanding common stock, effective immediately. With this increase, the company has approximately $347.6M of availability remaining under its share repurchase program as of June 10. Year-to-date through June 10, the company has repurchased 1.9M shares, for a total of approximately $201.6M.

16:19 EDT Tyson Foods says 'fully' cooperating with the DOJ in broiler chicken probe - Tyson Foods issued the following statement regarding the June 2 indictment by the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice, DOJ, charging multiple executives of other companies in the broiler chicken industry with conspiring to restrain trade. "Tyson Foods is committed to competing vigorously, honestly and in compliance with the letter and the spirit of the antitrust laws and respects the important role that the Department of Justice plays in enforcing these laws. On April 26, 2019, Tyson was served with a grand jury subpoena from the Antitrust Division of the DOJ concerning a criminal antitrust investigation into the broiler chicken industry. Tyson uncovered information in connection with that investigation, which we immediately self-reported to the DOJ. Tyson took appropriate actions to address the internal issues and has been fully cooperating with the DOJ as part of its application for leniency under the DOJ's Corporate Leniency Program. A formal grant of leniency will mean that neither the company nor any of its employees will face criminal fines, jail time or prosecution. Our swift and decisive actions demonstrate our steadfast commitment to treating suppliers, customers and partners with integrity and to fostering a free and fair competitive environment that not only benefits consumers but makes Tyson Foods better."

16:17 EDT Annaly Capital cuts quarterly dividend to 22c from 25c per share - This dividend is payable July 31, 2020, to common shareholders of record on June 30, 2020.

16:16 EDT Chimera lowers quarterly dividend to 30c from 50c per share - The dividend is payable July 31, 2020 to common stockholders of record on June 22, 2020.

16:11 EDT Oxford Industries will not provide FY20 guidance due to COVID-19 uncertainty

16:09 EDT Sonoco says its Tube & Core unit implementing scrap return subscription service - Sonoco announced its Tube & Core North America division will implement a tube and core scrap return subscription service, effective July 1.The subscription service is voluntary and will only be in effect if a customer chooses to return scrap tubes and cores to a Sonoco supplying facility. For many years, Sonoco offered this service at no cost to customers, however fluctuations in the value of the returned materials, along with the rising costs of labor, freight and other processing costs, required leadership to review this valuable offering. "Due to the recent experience with OCC volatility, Sonoco discovered that the value of our OCC bales was well below the processing costs associated with it," said Mike Thompson, Director - Sales & Marketing, Tubes and Cores - US/ Canada. "Sonoco, along with many other recyclers, has determined the necessity to set a protocol to manage costs with such a volatile commodity moving forward." When OCC is at or above $90 per ton, Sonoco will continue to offer a core scrap return program with no fees. However, when OCC values drop below $90/ton (RISI's - Southeast Region - High), a fee of $95 will be added to each invoice for new tube and core shipments. At the point when OCC again increases over the threshold of $90 per ton, the service fee will be removed.

16:08 EDT Boyd Gaming to reopen properties in Indiana, Ohio - Boyd Gaming announced plans to resume operations at three properties in Indiana and Ohio, pending receipt of final regulatory approvals. On Monday, June 15, Boyd Gaming plans to resume operations at its two properties in Indiana: Blue Chip Casino Hotel and Spa in Michigan City, and Belterra Casino Resort in Florence. On Friday, June 19, the Company plans to reopen Belterra Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. Upon reopening, the three properties will operate with limited amenities and capacity restrictions in compliance with state and local requirements. Additionally, all Boyd Gaming properties are practicing "Boyd Clean," a set of comprehensive protocols aimed at protecting the health and safety of our team members and guests.

16:06 EDT Personalis to partner with Berry Genomics for China expansion - Personalis announced the partnership with Berry Genomics, headquartered in the People's Republic of China. Personalis will be expanding business operations in the People's Republic of China in 2020, and plans to form a wholly-owned subsidiary in Shanghai. The expansion will include building out a laboratory operation for local customers to use its ImmunoID NeXT PlatformTM, a commercial team to support local customers, and general and administrative functions. Under terms of the agreement, Berry Genomics will provide Personalis certain services and local support.

15:25 EDT Microsoft says misconfigured kubeflow workloads are 'security risk' - In a blog post, Yossi Weizman, security research software engineer, Azure Security Center, said that, "Azure Security Center monitors and defends thousands of Kubernetes clusters running on top of AKS. Azure Security Center regularly searches for and research for new attack vectors against Kubernetes workloads. We recently published a blog post about a large scale campaign against Kubernetes clusters that abused exposed Kubernetes dashboards for deploying cryptocurrency miners... A new campaign that was observed recently by ASC targets Kubeflow, a machine learning toolkit for Kubernetes. We observed that this attack effected on tens of Kubernetes clusters... Azure Security Center has detected multiple campaigns against Kubernetes clusters in the past that have a similar access vector: an exposed service to the internet. However, this is the first time that we have identified an attack that targets Kubeflow environments specifically." Reference Link

15:09 EDT Vale raises level of emergency at three dams 'on a preventive basis' - Vale informs that it started, on a preventive basis, the Level 1 emergency protocol for dams 6 and 7A, at the Aguas Claras Mine, Nova Lima (Minas Gerais), and the Area IX dam, at the Fabrica Mine, Ouro Preto (Minas Gerais), all of them inactive, protocol that does not require the evacuation of the population downstream of the dam. Recently, once it identified three inactive structures with characteristics of dams, Vale communicated and recorded these structures with the competent bodies. As of more recent inspections, no anomalies have been identified that could compromise the safety of the structures. Vale is working on the investigation of these structures to obtain details of their characteristics and conditions. The decision to raise the level of emergency is a preventive measure until the technical analysis of the structures is completed. The activation of Level 1 protocol of the dams mentioned in this release does not impact the 2020 production plan, as presented in the Production and Sales Report in 1Q20. Reference Link

14:47 EDT NY DFS files charges against Endo for role in opioid crisis - Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the New York State Department of Financial Services, or DFS, has filed charges and initiated administrative proceedings against Endo International and its subsidiaries, Endo Health Solutions, Endo Pharmaceuticals, and Par Pharmaceutical Companies. These charges are the second to be filed in DFS' ongoing investigation into the entities that created and perpetuated the opioid crisis. "All these opioid manufacturers knew how addictive and dangerous their products were, and they used it as a reckless business model for their own financial gain at the cost of thousands of human lives and billions of dollars. New York demands accountability from the drug companies and others responsible for the opioid epidemic that continues to devastate families and communities throughout the state and across the country," Governor Cuomo said. "Their greedy, fraudulent behavior is inexcusable, and New York will make sure that justice is served and these big pharmaceutical companies are ultimately held responsible for their actions." According to DFS' Statement of Charges, Endo has been a prolific manufacturer of opioids in the United States, manufacturing approximately 18.4% of the opioids that flooded New York from 2006 to 2014. Endo manufactured both its own branded opioids as well as generic opioids. Reference Link

13:57 EDT UK antitrust watchdog CMA pushes out ruling on Amazon's Deliveroo deal - The UK's competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority or CMA, will take more time to make a final ruling on Amazon's purchase of a minority stake in online delivery group Deliveroo. The CMA said in a posting to its website: "In taking this decision, the Inquiry Group had regard to the need to take full account of representations received from the Parties and third parties in response to the provisional findings and to reflect the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in its assessment. The Inquiry Group considers that completion of its investigation and the publication of its final report will not be possible within the original reference period. Reference Link

13:28 EDT AMC Networks offers new subscription bundles to Xfinity customers - AMC Networks (AMCX) announced two new subscription video on demand bundles for Comcast's (CMCSA) Xfinity customers, AMC+ and WE tv+. "Available to both Xfinity TV and Xfinity Flex customers, each bundle offers a comprehensive array of popular programming from AMCN's linear television networks and its own SVOD services," the company said in a statement. The first bundle, AMC+, includes original series from AMC and sister networks like SundanceTV and IFC, ad-free with early premieres on demand, along with the streaming services Shudder, Sundance Now, and IFC Films Unlimited. The price of this bundle will be $4.99 per month, to match the current price of AMC Premiere, which is being replaced by AMC+. The second bundle, WE tv+, features programming from the company's reality network WE tv and the UMC streaming service and is also priced at $4.99 per month.

13:20 EDT Dragon Victory receives Nasdaq staff deficiency level - Dragon Victory announced today that on June 5, 2020, it received a Nasdaq staff deficiency letter notifying the Company that it was no longer in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement as set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) requires listed securities to maintain a minimum bid price of $1.00 per share, and Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A) provides that a failure to meet the minimum bid price requirement exists if the deficiency continues for a period of 30 consecutive business days. Based on the closing bid price of the Company's ordinary shares for the 30 consecutive business days prior to the date of the Nasdaq Letter, the Company no longer meets the minimum bid price requirement. The Nasdaq Letter has no immediate effect on the listing or trading of the Company's ordinary shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market and, at this time, the ordinary shares will continue to trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol "LYL." The Nasdaq Letter provides that the Company has 180 calendar days to regain compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). The Nasdaq Letter also stated that given the extraordinary market conditions caused by COVID-19, Nasdaq has determined to toll the compliance periods for the bid price and market value of publicly held shares requirements through June 30, 2020. As a result, the tolling and 180 calendar day compliance period will expire on December 28, 2020. If at any time during the tolling period or 180-day compliance period, the closing bid price of the Company's security is at least $1.00 for a minimum of ten consecutive business days, the Nasdaq will provide the Company written confirmation of compliance and the matter will be closed.

13:09 EDT Facebook scales back ban on promoting non-medical masks - Facebook said in an announcement, "In March 2020, we temporarily banned ads and commerce listings for masks on our apps to help protect against scams, misleading medical claims, medical supply shortages, inflated prices and hoarding. Since then, we've continued to monitor trends and activity around COVID-19 to better understand how people are using our platform and advertising tools during the pandemic. Many health authorities now advise wearing non-medical masks - and in some places masks are required for activities like taking public transportation or visiting a store - and we've seen people and businesses of all sizes working to fill this need. So we're scaling back this temporary ban to allow people to promote and trade non-medical masks, including those that are homemade or handmade, in organic posts, ads and commerce listings on Facebook and Instagram. We will still maintain a temporary ban on selling medical masks, such as surgical or N95 masks, to prevent people from exploiting the pandemic for financial gain." Reference Link

13:00 EDT FDA issues emergency use authorization to Illumina for COVID-19 test - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization, or EUA, to Illumina for what it said is "the first COVID-19 diagnostic test utilizing next generation sequence technology." The FDA authorized the Illumina COVIDSeq Test for the qualitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from respiratory specimens collected from individuals suspected of COVID-19 by their healthcare provider. "Using next generation sequencing means that the test can generate information about the genomic sequence of the virus present in a sample, which can be also used for research purposes," the FDA said. "Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen the ingenuity that results from the FDA working in partnership with the private sector. Having a next generation sequencing diagnostic tool available will continue to expand our testing capabilities. Additionally, genetic sequencing information will help us monitor if and how the virus mutates, which will be crucial to our efforts to continue to learn and fight this virus," added FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn, M.D. Reference Link

12:47 EDT OneSpaWorld reports shareholders approve $75M equity financing - OneSpaWorld Holdings announced that, based on preliminary voting results at today's 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, OneSpaWorld shareholders have approved the $75M equity financing. "More than two-thirds of the votes cast supported the private placement, which is expected to close on June 12. Shareholders also re-elected the three OneSpaWorld Board nominees," said the company. Leonard Fluxman, Executive Chairman, added, "We are thrilled with this outcome and grateful to our shareholders who supported the Board and management team in their efforts to secure the best committed financing option available under the most dire of circumstances. Approval of this financing ensures that OneSpaWorld will remain compliant with our debt covenant as of June 30 and provides us with the certain liquidity necessary to sustain our operations for up to 24 months if current unprecedented conditions persist. We are now in a position to seamlessly ramp operations and focus the team on executing value-driving initiatives when our cruise line partners are permitted to resume sailing and our destination resort partners reopen."

12:12 EDT GrubHub drops 4% to $55.59 after CNBC says deal premium likely small

12:02 EDT Caterpillar maintains $1.03 per share dividend, puts off decision on increase - The board of directors of Caterpillar voted to maintain the quarterly cash dividend of $1.03 per share of common stock, payable on August 20 to shareholders of record at the close of business on July 20, the company announced. The company said Caterpillar ended the first quarter of 2020 with $7.1B in enterprise cash and had $20.5B in available liquidity as of April 2020. "Caterpillar is committed to delivering higher free cash flow through the cycles and to returning substantially all of its free cash flow to shareholders. However, given the economic uncertainty associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the board of directors has postponed any decision on a dividend increase until later this year," Caterpillar added.

12:00 EDT Chesapeake falls -20.9% - Chesapeake is down -20.9%, or -$4.97 to $18.78.

12:00 EDT Hertz falls -26.0% - Hertz is down -26.0%, or -$1.09 to $3.09.

12:00 EDT AMC Entertainment rises 10.9% - AMC Entertainment is up 10.9%, or 65c to $6.64.

11:05 EDT United Airlines introduces customer acknowledgment health-self assessment - United Airlines announced that it is "the first major U.S. airline to ask all passengers to complete a health self-assessment during their check-in process." Based on recommendations from the Cleveland Clinic, the "Ready-to-Fly" checklist asks customers to confirm they have not experienced COVID-19-related symptoms in the 14 days prior to flying, according to the company which said the assessment is part of "United CleanPlus," which it identifies as "the company's commitment to putting health and safety at the forefront of the entire customer experience."

10:59 EDT 51 attorneys general file antitrust lawsuit against generic drug makers - New York Attorney General Letitia James, as part of a coalition of 51 attorneys general from around the nation, today filed an antitrust complaint in federal court alleging that individual executives and manufacturers of dermatological, generic drugs engaged in a "widespread conspiracy to artificially inflate and manipulate prices, reduce competition, and unreasonably restrain trade for generic drugs sold across the United States." The complaint alleges "broad, coordinated, and systematic antitrust violations, price-fixing, market allocating, and the rigging of bids for more than 80 different topical, generic drugs." The complaint names as defendants 26 generic, dermatological drug manufacturers and 10 individual executives at these companies. From at least 2007 through 2014, three manufacturers - Taro (TARO), Perrigo (PRGO), and Sandoz (NVS) - sold approximately two-thirds of all the generic topical products dispensed in the United States, James says in a statement. "In an effort to manipulate the market and consume a larger share of the market than would otherwise be allowed, these companies repeatedly communicated directly and specifically to minimize competition, including by substantially raising prices on dozens of topical products," she adds. Other generic manufacturers - Actavis, Mylan (MYL), Teva (TEVA), G&W, and Glenmark - did the same, according to the suit. "This massive antitrust conspiracy adversely impacted virtually every federal, state, and commercial payor, and every person in the United States who used or paid for a generic topical drug from 2009 through 2016," James contends. Reference Link

10:39 EDT U.S. Bancorp sees Q2 NII stable to down vs. Q1

10:24 EDT CNS Pharmaceuticals receives FDA orphan drug designation for berubicin - CNS Pharmaceuticals has received FDA orphan drug designation for berubicin for the treatment of malignant glioma, the FDA said on its website. Reference Link

10:03 EDT Shrewsberry sees CCAR feedback being useful on figuring dividend's 'right level' - Wells Fargo CFO John Shrewsberry discussed the potential for dividend changes at the Morgan Stanley Virtual US Financials Conference, stating that the company is considering the "right level" for the dividend going forward and that CCAR feedback from the Fed will be helpful in making its determination.

10:01 EDT TriMas Aerospace expands European footprint - TriMas announced that TriMas Aerospace has formed a strategic partnership with Kuehne+Nagel to establish a European logistics hub in Contern, Luxembourg. This expansion was driven by TriMas Aerospace's new business growth in the region with customers like Airbus, Safran and Sonaca and the strategic positioning of parts to service its customer base. Kuehne+Nagel was selected as a global third party logistics provider with a significant presence in Europe that provides the expertise to support strategic warehousing and logistics requirements. The European logistics hub provides TriMas Aerospace with the ability to pre-position product to support the region. This extends to recently secured long-term original equipment manufacturer agreements, as well as urgent aftermarket requirements. TriMas anticipates supporting its European customers with product availability out of its Kuehne+Nagel partner location by the third quarter of 2020.

09:59 EDT Chesapeake trading resumes

09:54 EDT Chesapeake trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:47 EDT Guess falls -17.0% - Guess is down -17.0%, or -$2.17 to $10.59.

09:47 EDT AG Mortgage rises 8.0% - AG Mortgage is up 8.0%, or 46c to $6.24.

09:47 EDT AMC Entertainment rises 19.9% - AMC Entertainment is up 19.9%, or $1.19 to $7.18.

09:42 EDT Taubman Centers trading resumes

09:37 EDT Taubman Centers trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:35 EDT GE: Renewable Energy turnaround continues to be top priority

09:33 EDT General Electric sees positive free cash flow in 2021 'given what we see today' - GE commented on its website that "While uncertainty around the pace of recovery in our end markets remains, we are watching key leading indicators closely, are focused on things that we can control, and should achieve positive free cash flow in 2021 given what we see today on our journey toward high-single-digit free cash flow margins over time. Although the shape of the recovery is still unknown, we have started to see some positive market data trends across our portfolio. In Aviation and GECAS, aircraft departures, which are a leading indicator for billings and revenue generating shop visits, are improving in China -- now down ~30% versus ~70-80% at the beginning of 2020 -- and freight is up, which is especially meaningful as 30% of our widebody engines are cargo-related."

09:30 EDT FangDD Network Group Ltd (ADS) trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:28 EDT Johnson & Johnson accelerates development of COVID-19 vaccine candidate - Johnson & Johnson announced that through its Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, it has accelerated the initiation of the Phase 1/2a first-in-human clinical trial of its investigational SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, Ad26.COV2-S, recombinant. Initially scheduled to begin in September, the trial is now expected to commence in the second half of July. Paul Stoffels, M.D., Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer, Johnson & Johnson, said, "Based on the strength of the preclinical data we have seen so far and interactions with the regulatory authorities, we have been able to further accelerate the clinical development of our investigational SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, Ad26.COV2-S, recombinant. Simultaneously, we are continuing our efforts to build important global partnerships and invest in our vaccine production technology and manufacturing capabilities. Our goal is to ensure we can deliver a vaccine to the world and protect people everywhere from this pandemic." The Company is in discussions with the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases with the objective to start the Phase 3 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, Ad26.COV2-S, recombinant, clinical trial ahead of its original schedule, pending outcome of phase 1 studies and approval of regulators. As the Company progresses the clinical development of its investigational SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, Ad26.COV2-S, recombinant, it continues to increase manufacturing capacity and is in active discussions with global partners to ensure worldwide access. The company committed to the goal of supplying more than one billion doses globally through the course of 2021, provided the vaccine is a safe and effective.

09:21 EDT Digerati Technologies reports Q3 EPS (2c) vs. (1c) last year - Reports Q3 revenue $1.57M vs. $1.49M last year. CEO Arthur Smith, commented, "It is exciting to management that even during the midst of the Covid-19 Pandemic, we produced positive financial results. We were pleased to have provided business continuity solutions to our customers during this time of accelerated adoption of UCaaS service offerings created by the need for businesses to implement teleworking environments. During the quarter, we also launched TeamsConnect that integrates Microsoft Teams(R) into our UCaaS service. This reveals and affirms that we are providing the proper communication solutions for the small to medium-sized business market, that are highly useful to customers during challenging and disruptive times."

09:21 EDT AeroVironment receives two orders worth $9.8M from NSPA - AeroVironment announced its receipt of two firm-fixed-price orders totaling $9.8M from the NATO Support and Procurement Agency, or NSPA. The orders, received on March 5 and April 16, encompass the procurement of Raven and Puma 3 AE tactical UAS and spares. Delivery for the first order is anticipated by August and the second order by October. The orders are part of a three-year base contract received from NSPA in January. The contract includes an option for two additional years of logistics support for Raven, Wasp and Puma tactical UAS. The total potential value of the multi-year contract is $80M, encompassing the procurement and sustainment of AeroVironment tactical unmanned aircraft systems employed by the defense forces of several NATO countries.

09:17 EDT Comtech receives $1.1M order for satellite ground station equipment - Comtech announced it received a $1.1M order for satellite ground station equipment from a South East Asia Ministry of Defense. This initial order of SCPC modems and complementary redundancy switches is part of a network upgrade which could expand to more than 2,000 units.

09:11 EDT Advance Auto Parts announces multiyear official partnership with NASCAR - As NASCAR Weekly Series sanctioned events begin to return at select tracks across North America, NASCAR and Advance Auto Parts announced a multiyear official partnership, designating Advance as the series entitlement sponsor. As part of the agreement, Advance also becomes the "Official Auto Parts Retailer of NASCAR."

09:09 EDT RaceTech uses Vislink for broadcasting live race events - Vislink Technologies announced that RaceTech is using Vislink's RF Cameras, Point-to-Point Links, and Remote Camera Control Systems to provide live coverage to racing fans around the country, that have been starved of 'live' sports during the past few months. Having been on lock down for an unprecedented 76 days, RaceTech welcomed the chance to start racing again at Newcastle on June 1, with the 'Welcome Back' British Racing Handicap followed by 2000 Guinea's at Newmarket on June 6, 2020. Daily coverage continues at various courses around the U.K.

09:07 EDT Finjan Holdings to be acquired by Fortress affiliates for $1.55 per share in cas - Finjan Holdings announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which affiliates of Fortress Investment Group would acquire all outstanding shares of Finjan common stock for $1.55 per share in cash, representing an aggregate equity value of approximately $43.9M. Finjan will maintain its brand and business model post-transaction, licensing and enforcing a substantial patent portfolio that has been consistently upheld by courts and patent offices. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, Fortress will commence a tender offer to purchase all the outstanding shares of Finjan's common stock for $1.55 per share in cash. The closing of the tender offer is subject to customary conditions, including the tender of a majority of the outstanding shares of Finjan's common stock. Following successful completion of the tender offer, Fortress will acquire all remaining shares not tendered in the offer through a merger at the same price as in the tender offer. Finjan's Board of Directors unanimously approved the Merger Agreement and recommends that shareholders tender their shares. In connection with the Merger Agreement, directors and officers of the Company, together with shareholders, in the aggregate holding approximately 28 percent of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Company, have agreed to tender their shares in the offer pursuant to support agreements. The Transaction is not subject to any financing condition and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2020.

09:05 EDT UPS Healthcare continues global facility expansion - UPS announced a series of facility expansions to its healthcare-dedicated warehouse and distribution network in key global markets. This includes new GDP-compliant space opening in Central and Eastern Europe and additional cold chain space coming online near its UPS Worldport facility in Louisville. The company is planning up to 1.5 million sq. ft. of cGMP distribution space for Coronavirus-related shipments, and a new facility in Shanghai. As part of these ongoing facility enhancements, the company has committed to building additional cooler space, and freezer space in its new GMP facility in Louisville. UPS Healthcare is also expanding its GDP facility space in Hungary, and GMP space in the United Kingdom through its Polar Speed subsidiary where it operates a dispensing pharmacy that serves more than 20,000 patients daily. The new GMP warehouse and transportation hub will be located in the Midlands, UK, to further facilitate its clients' growth needs. These global enhancements come soon after UPS Healthcare's recent announcement of more than 1M sq. ft. of facility space added in strategic markets across U.S. operations.

09:03 EDT Honeywell partners with Dimer for low-cost aircraft ultraviolet cleaning system - Honeywell and Dimer entered a partnership to bring an ultraviolet cleaning system to airlines that, when properly applied, is designed to significantly reduce certain viruses and bacteria on airplane cabin surfaces. The Honeywell UV Cabin System aims to treat an aircraft cabin in less than 10 minutes for under $10 per flight for midsize to large airline fleets. The Honeywell UV Cabin System is available to order, with deliveries starting in July.

09:02 EDT GeoVax Labs to present COVID-19 vaccine program - GeoVax Labs announced that its CSO Farshad Guirakhoo, PhD, will be a featured speaker at the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases Annual Conference on Vaccinology Research, being held virtually on June 18-19, 2020. Dr. Guirakhoo will deliver a presentation entitled Development of Potential Single-Dose Vaccine Against COVID-19 Using GV-MVA-VLP Vector Platform, during which he will discuss GeoVax's unique multi-antigens approach toward COVID-19 vaccine development, including vaccine design and preclinical testing results to date. Dr. Guirakhoo will also discuss more broadly GeoVax's vaccine vector platform, its applicability to coronavirus, and previous results observed in other infectious disease vaccines including HIV, Zika, Ebola, Marburg and Lassa fever. GeoVax's Modified Vaccinia Ankara Virus-Like Particles platform technology is built on a proprietary MVA vector system that is optimized for high expression and stable transgenes during manufacture. Similar to its parent MVA, it has the advantages of being a live replication-competent vector in avian cells for manufacturing, yet replication-deficient in mammalian cells for vaccination, thus inherently safe. Importantly, GV-MVA-VLP vaccines elicit protective T cell as well as antibody responses in animals and humans. In non-clinical studies, GV-MVA-VLP vaccine candidates against various virus families induced strong antibody and T cell responses and conferred full protection after single dose vaccinations against lethal challenges. Single dose protection is a favourable characteristic of preventive vaccines for emerging infectious disease outbreak response, given the speed of spread of pathogens and the impracticality of multi-dose regimens in the under-resourced settings where outbreaks often occur.

09:00 EDT Diebold partners with Austria's bank99 for ATM network enhancement - Diebold signed a six-year ATM as a Service agreement with bank99, Austrian Post's new banking and financial services entity, valued at more than $20M, to support a greenfield approach to set up and manage a new digital branch network from end-to-end. Diebold is partnering with bank99 of Austria to set up and manage its entire digital self-service network Bank99 was launched in April as a result of a joint venture between Austrian Post and the GRAWE Banking Group to offer enhanced services including cash recycling systems, customer service terminals and cash dispensing ATMs to postal and branch customers.

08:59 EDT Delta Air Lines seeks to have $10B in cash, equivalents as of December 31 - Delta said in a regulatory filing: "We are seeking to have $10 billion in cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and borrowing capacity under our revolving credit facilities as of December 31, 2020."

08:57 EDT Simplicity Esports partners with AMC Networks to sell sponsorships - Simplicity Esports and Gaming Company announced that it has partnered with AMC Networks International - Latin America to sell sponsorships for its Brazilian subsidiary Flamengo Esports. The partnership comes on the heels of AMCNI-LA's recently announced strategic alliance with GamingSquads to work together developing Temporada de Juegos, a pioneering esports production company in Latin America. AMCNI-LA has plans to organize tournaments and produce content for multiple esports games.

08:47 EDT Neurotrope partners with BryoLogyx for childhood leukemia trial - Neurotrope entered into a strategic agreement with BryoLogyx for the supply of synthetic, GMP-certified Bryostatin-1, manufactured by Albany Molecular Research, a global CDMO provider of drug development and manufacturing solutions. Neurotrope expects to use the synthetic Bryostatin-1 in its clinical development initiatives aimed at advancing its lead product candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases and for potential commercial drug supply if regulatory approval is received. BryoLogyx will supply Neurotrope with specified amounts of synthetic, GMP-grade Bryostatin-1. BryoLogyx will pay a fee on gross revenues generated by the commercial sale of Bryostatin-1 product sold by BryoLogyx for the treatment of ALL. In exchange, Neurotrope will transfer to BryoLogyx the program right to develop Bryostatin-1 with CAR-T therapy for the potential treatment of CD22+ B-cell ALL with the National Cancer Institute. Neurotrope has entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Metuchen Pharmaceuticals and Neurotrope have agreed to merge in an all-stock transaction resulting in a newly formed holding company which will be named Petros Pharmaceuticals. Upon closing of the transaction, Bryostatin-1 and substantially all of Neurotrope's existing assets, operations and liabilities, except for cash retained by Petros in accordance with the terms of the merger agreement, will be spun-out into a new, separately traded company which will retain the name Neurotrope Bioscience.

08:40 EDT Yum! Brands updates on restaurant reopenings - In a regulatory filing, Yum! Brands said: "We experienced a peak of restaurant closures in early-April when approximately 30% of our international KFC restaurants and 25% of our international Pizza Hut restaurants were closed. These closures contributed to a peak global temporary closure count of approximately 11,000 restaurants. Following an encouraging week with over 1,000 net reopens, as of June 9th, of our over 50,000 restaurants, we had approximately 5,000 units, or 10% of our global system, temporarily closed. Broken down geographically, this figure reflects that in North America 92% of our restaurants are open - over 99% excluding limited menu express units, the majority of which are Pizza Hut U.S.. This geographic area is approximately 38% of our global unit count. In Asia Pacific 97% of our restaurants are open. This geographic area is approximately 34% of our global unit count. In Africa, Europe, India, Latin America, Middle East, and Russia 78% of our restaurants are open. This geographic area is approximately 27% of our global unit count. The company expects to continue its typical quarterly reporting going forward and does not expect to issue further intra-quarter business updates."

08:38 EDT DelMar, Adgero announce organizational structure of combined company - Following the close of the transaction, Saiid Zarrabian, DelMar's President and CEO, will continue to serve as President and CEO, John Liatos, Adgero's interim CEO and CFO, will serve as Senior Vice President, Business Development, Scott Praill, DelMar's CFO, and Dennis Brown, DelMar's Chief Scientific Officer, will each continue to serve in their respective capacities, and Steve Rychnovsky, Adgero's Vice President, Operations and Product Development will serve as Vice President, Research and Development. The combined company's Board of Directors will consist of seven directors, four of which will be designated by DelMar, two of which will be nominated by Adgero and approved by DelMar, and the remaining Director will be mutually agreed upon by DelMar and Adgero.

08:36 EDT Farmer Bros. appoints Maurice Moragne as CSO - Farmer Bros. Co. announced the appointment of Maurice Moragne as Chief Sales Officer, effective June 8, 2020. He most recently served as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Sales Officer and Founder of International Agriculture Group, an ingredient technology company, where he was responsible for managing investor financing, as well as assembling sales, marketing and technical teams.

08:35 EDT Baxter announces new Sharesource data for APD therapy - Baxter announced new data showing use of Baxter's Sharesource remote patient management platform for automated peritoneal dialysis, or APD, therapy performed in Colombia was associated with a 56% reduction in technique failure. In a separate study conducted in Canada, data show 74% of patients, who received expanded hemodialysis, or HDx, therapy enabled by Theranova, self-reported an improved quality of life through better energy, sleep, appetite and/or reduced pain. These studies were among the many presented in support of scientific exchange during the 57th ERA-EDTA Virtual Congress. Technique failure is a major barrier to increasing the use of APD. The abstract shows improving access to home therapy due to a reported 56% reduction in APD technique failure associated with those using Sharesource. The retrospective, multicenter study of 558 patients took place in Colombia from 2016-2018. Approximately 25% of the patients studied used Sharesource; the remainder used an APD system without remote patient management technology. There was not a significant difference in reported peritonitis rates across the patients in the study. The study highlighted data on patients' self-reported improvements in quality-of-life metrics on HDx therapy enabled by Theranova. The 12-week study monitored 23 patients' symptom characteristics throughout the study, two to three times weekly. Laboratory biomarkers, including beta-2 microglobulin and free-light chains, were also collected at baseline and after 12 weeks of HDx therapy. The authors stratified the patient population based on their baseline symptoms on conventional hemodialysis and assessed patients' experience of symptoms over time on HDx. Although more work is required to further stratify symptoms in relation to demographic/biochemical finding and clinical outcomes, 74% of the patients involved in the study reported improvement on at least one quality of life metric. Theranova was designed to filter a wider range of molecules from the blood than conventional hemodialysis filters, targeting the removal of large middle molecules that may be associated with inflammation and cardiovascular health for end-stage renal disease patients. Its Medium Cut-Off membrane expands the range of solute removed during regular dialysis, while retaining essential proteins at a limited level. This cut-off and retention onset profile allows for filtration closer to that of the natural kidney. Theranova is an investigational device in the United States and is not approved or cleared in the U.S.

08:34 EDT DelMar Pharmaceuticals to acquire Adgero Biopharmaceuticals in-all equity deal - DelMar Pharmaceuticals and Adgero Biopharmaceuticals announced the companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which DelMar will acquire Adgero, a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of its late stage photodynamic therapy platform for the treatment of serious cutaneous oncology indications. In an all-equity transaction, Adgero stockholders will receive shares of DelMar common stock for shares of Adgero common stock. Upon completion of the merger, current DelMar and Adgero stockholders will own 50.5% and 49.5% of the total voting power of the combined company, respectively, exclusive of securities to be issued in a financing to occur prior to the merger closing, as well as compensation payable in connection with the merger and the financing. Subject to stockholder approval of both companies and other closing conditions, the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2020, at which time DelMar is expected to change its name to Kintara Therapeutics and trade on Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol "KTRA." The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of DelMar and Adgero. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including, among others, approval by the stockholders of each company, the closing on a minimum $10M financing, and DelMar's continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market, and is expected to close in third quarter. Additionally, the transaction has the support from each of the directors and executive officers of DelMar and Adgero.

08:33 EDT OrthoPediatrics commences U.S. launch of ApiFix system - OrthoPediatrics announced the initial U.S. launch of the ApiFix Minimally Invasive Deformity Correction system. Additionally, the Company anticipates approximately 20 leading clinical centers in the United States to enter data related to the use of the ApiFix system into a post-approval study registry hosted by the Pediatric Spine Study Group in order to continue monitoring the safety and probable benefit of the device for the treatment of progressive adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. The ApiFix technology is a posterior dynamic deformity correction system approved for use in AIS patients with Lenke type 1 and Lenke type 5 curves of 40 degrees to 60 degrees and acts as an internal brace implanted unilaterally on the concave aspect of the curvature. It enables surgeons to perform a unique treatment and provide permanent curve correction while retaining spine flexibility, all via a less invasive surgical procedure compared to spinal fusion. Patient recovery is relatively pain-free and is measured in days, not months. The ApiFix system offers a patented unidirectional, self-adjusting rod mechanism and motion-preserving polyaxial joints, allowing additional post-operative correction over time.

08:32 EDT NYSE tells Hertz that shares no longer suitable for listing - May 26, Hertz Global Holdings received a letter from the staff of NYSE Regulation that it had determined to commence proceedings to delist the common stock of the company from the New York Stock Exchange. NYSE Regulation reached its decision that the company is no longer suitable for listing after its disclosure on May 22 that it has commenced voluntary petitions for reorganization under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. Hertz appealed the determination and requested a hearing before the NYSE. At this time, the common stock of the company will continue to be listed and trade on the NYSE pending resolution of such appeal. "There can be no assurance that the NYSE will grant the Company's request for continued listing at the hearing and whether there will be equity value in the Company's common stock," Hertz said in a regulatory filing. The stock is down 6% to $3.92 in premarket trading.

08:31 EDT XpresSpa announces 1-for-3 reverse stock split - XpresSpa Group announced that it filed a certificate of amendment to its amended and restated certificate of incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware to effect a 1-for-3 reverse stock split of shares of the Company's common stock, par value $0.01 per share. Such amendment and ratio were previously approved by the Company's stockholders and board of directors, respectively. The reverse stock split does not have any impact on the voting and other rights of stockholders and will have no impact on the Company's business operations or any of its outstanding indebtedness. The reverse stock split is scheduled to take effect after the market closes on June 10, 2020. Shares of the Common Stock are expected to begin trading on a split-adjusted basis on June 11, 2020. As a result of the reverse stock split, every three shares of the Company's pre-reverse split Common Stock will be combined and reclassified into one share of Common Stock. Trading in the Common Stock will continue on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol "XSPA," but the security will be assigned a new CUSIP number. No fractional shares will be issued in connection with the reverse stock split. Stockholders who would otherwise hold a fractional share of the Company's Common Stock will receive payment in cash in lieu of any such resulting fractional shares of Common Stock as the post-reverse split amounts of Common Stock will be rounded down to the nearest full share. Such cash payment in lieu of a fractional share of Common Stock will be calculated by multiplying such fractional interest in one share of Common Stock by the closing trading price of the Company's Common Stock on the trading day immediately following the effective date of the reverse stock split, and rounded to the nearest cent.

08:27 EDT BIO-key announces agreement to PistolStar for $2.5M in cash - BIO-key International announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to buy privately-held PistolStar, an established provider of large-scale on-premise and Identity-as-a-Service identity and access management solutions, for $2.5M in cash. PistolStar's highly complementary team and products will become part of BIO-key's organization and offerings. The acquisition will be immediately accretive to both revenue and operating income and is subject to customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close by the end of Q2 2020. BIO-key will fund the purchase with a combination of cash on hand, an escrowed deposit, short term financing, and a 12-month promissory note. PistolStar's founder will remain in a consulting role to assist BIO-key after the acquisition. PistolStar's 2019 revenues were $1.65 million and net profit excluding prior owner compensation of $455K. PistolStar's flagship product is PortalGuard, a highly regarded enterprise multi-factor authentication and single sign-on platform deployed and used by millions of users at hundreds of customers around the world. PortalGuard delivers a flexible but uniform cloud or workstation logon MFA experience for cohesively securing an enterprise's users and cloud applications. PortalGuard supports nearly every cloud authentication federation standard, all major directories, and a wide variety of authenticators, including BIO-key's world-class passwordless biometric capabilities. PistolStar is complementary to BIO-key in three strategic growth areas. First, it will allow BIO-key to capitalize on a growing demand for biometrics as an MFA factor, by providing "super-MFA" IDaaS, hybrid, or on-prem solutions that offer BIO-key-based advantages and options simply not found in competing MFA offerings, while allowing enterprises to leverage existing investments in factors their users already have. Second, adding PistolStar's experienced team and outstanding product line significantly expands BIO-key's market reach and revenue potential, combining an already proven suite of IAM and IDaaS solutions with BIO-key's superior biometric user experience and value proposition. Going forward, PortalGuard customers can start with the authenticators their users already have, then raise their MFA ceiling by strategically adding BIO-key's powerful server-based biometrics to provide users with a persistent, portable positive authenticator that doesn't rely on a token or phone, and can't be shared or lost. The combination of PortalGuard and BIO-key solutions will make BIO-key the only biometric IDaaS provider owning its entire biometric IP stack, which is important when committing to a strategic technology like biometrics. In addition to BIO-key's server biometric platform, PortalGuard supports all major authentication factors found in the enterprise, including Windows Hello, FIDO/WebAuthn hardware keys such as YubiKey and Feitan, RSA SecurID hard and soft tokens, Google and Microsoft Authenticator apps, printed bar codes, and challenge questions. PortalGuard also supports leading federation and SSO standards including, SAML, OAuth v2.0/OpenIDConnect, Shibboleth, CAS v3.0, RADIUS, and desktop Kerberos, making it compatible with most SaaS and web-based applications such as Zoom, Microsoft Office 365, Workday, AWS, GSuite, Atlassian, SAP, DocuSign, as well as common IAM frameworks such as Okta, ForgeRock, Ping, IBM ISAM, and CA/Symantec SiteMinder. PortalGuard integrates with Microsoft Active Directory, OpenLDAP, IBM System I, Lotus Domino or custom SQL directories. Third, the PortalGuard customer base includes over 200 institutions and enterprises, with a strong presence in higher education, and has little overlap with BIO-key's existing customer base, thereby creating significant cross-selling potential. The combined organizations will benefit from consolidation of sales, administration and finance functions, while allowing PistolStar's development team to continue to innovate their product line. BIO-key also expects to generate improved gross margins by eliminating licensing payments on PistolStar technology currently included in BIO-key's ID Director for Windows solution.

08:24 EDT Mateon Therapeutics achieves milestone under licensing of OT-101/IL-2 combo - Mateon Therapeutics announced the fruition of its licensing of OT-101/IL-2 combination to Autotelic BIO based on an agreement entered into between Oncotelic and Autotelic BIO, a South Korean Company, during 2018. OT-101 has received orphan drug designation for glioblastoma, melanoma, and pancreatic cancer. Furthermore, FDA recently granted Rare Pediatric Designation for OT-101 against diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma. OT-101 is also effective against coronavirus including COVID-19 and being deployed against the COVID-19 epidemic. OT-101 has demonstrated robust efficacy against pancreatic cancer, glioblastoma, and melanoma during phase 2 clinical trials. The demonstration that OT-101 will synergize with IL-2 further demonstrate its utility as adjunct to other immunotherapies. Interleukin-2 Immunotherapy is cancer treatment that stimulates the body's immune system to fight cancer, such as melanoma.

08:21 EDT InspireMD announces publication of 12-month results of CGuard EPS PARADIGM trial - InspireMD announced that 12-month PARADIGM trial results have been published in the EuroIntervention journal. The paper, entitled, "Routine MicroNET covered embolic prevention stent system use for consecutive symptomatic and increased stroke-risk asymptomatic carotid stenosis revascularization: Twelve-month outcomes from the PARADIGM study," details the results of 101 unselected consecutive real-life patients treated with the CGuard MicroNET covered stent for carotid stenosis and the 12-month prevention of postprocedural neurologic events. 101 unselected consecutive patients for carotid revascularization were enrolled in the PARADIGM trial. At 30 days, only one adverse event occurred a minor transient stroke with no other strokes, myocardial infarctions, or deaths. Furthermore, these study results show that no strokes occurred between 30 days and twelve months. EuroIntervention is an international peer-reviewed journal whose aim is to create a community of high-quality research and education in the field of percutaneous cardiovascular interventions. EuroIntervention is the official Journal of EuroPCR and the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions.

08:21 EDT AbbVie's ABBV-3373 in rheumatoid arthritis shows improvement in disease activity - AbbVie announced new data from a Phase 2a study of ABBV-3373, an investigational anti-tumor necrosis factor Glucocorticoid Receptor Modulator steroid antibody drug conjugate, in adult patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. The primary endpoint was the change in Disease Activity Score 28 C-Reactive Protein from baseline to week 12 and two statistical comparisons were pre-specified. The first compared ABBV-3373 and mean outcome from historical adalimumab data. The second compared ABBV-3373 and combined in-trial and historical adalimumab data. Results of the first comparison show a greater difference in the primary endpoint change in DAS28-CRP from baseline to week 12 for ABBV-3373 vs. a pre-specified historical adalimumab mean. Results of the second comparison predicted with a 90% probability that ABBV-3373 was associated with a greater improvement on DAS28-CRP from baseline to week 12 than adalimumab based on in-trial data combined with historical data. ABBV-3373 showed no systemic glucocorticoid effects. These are the first results to be reported for the novel ADC in rheumatoid arthritis. ABBV-3373 is an investigational medicine that is not approved by regulatory authorities and is being studied for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other immune-mediated diseases.The safety profile of ABBV-3373 was generally similar to adalimumab.

08:19 EDT Kiniksa provides timing of second half 2020 data readouts - Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals announced that data from RHAPSODY, the pivotal Phase 3 trial of rilonacept in recurrent pericarditis, are expected in the third quarter of 2020. Additionally, the company expects mavrilimumab Phase 2 data in giant cell arteritis and KPL-404 single-ascending-dose Phase 1 data in the fourth quarter of 2020.

08:18 EDT Front Yard Residential board of directors 'unanimously supports' management team - The Board of Directors of Front Yard Residential Corporation issued the following statement: "The Front Yard Board of Directors unanimously supports the Company's management team, including George G. Ellison, Chief Executive Officer, and Robin N. Lowe, Chief Financial Officer. Late yesterday, Altisource Asset Management Company, Front Yard's external manager, filed a Form 8-K disclosing that it had placed Messrs. Ellison and Lowe on administrative leave in connection with an ongoing investigation being conducted by a committee of the AAMC Board. This decision was taken and public disclosure was made without any consultation with the Front Yard Board. The Front Yard Board was not made aware of the filing prior to it becoming publicly available. The action apparently taken by the AAMC Board and AAMC's related disclosure does not impact Messrs. Ellison's and Lowe's positions at Front Yard. They remain in their senior leadership positions with the Company, and the Front Yard Board has directed Front Yard management to focus on the Company and its shareholders. Pursuant to the Asset Management Agreement between Front Yard and AAMC, among other things, any changes to or any replacements or appointments of any senior executive of Front Yard only can be made with the prior approval of the Front Yard Board. Although the Company is externally managed pursuant to the AMA, the Front Yard Board retains ultimate control over and responsibility for Front Yard's business, and AAMC, as Manager, is required to carry out its obligations under the AMA pursuant to the direction of the Front Yard Board."

08:17 EDT LiveXLive Media, Baeble Music enter distribution, revenue share agreement - LiveXLive Media announced that LiveXLive will distribute its content across the Baeble Music platform, including LiveXLive's unique and exclusive franchises "LiveZone", "Music Lives" and "Music Lives ON", as well as live streams from artists' homes, shows, festivals and more. Branded content sponsorships and advertising sales will be monetized by both companies in addition to collaborating on new content and live events. This partnership expands LiveXLive's content offering in an effort to build the most robust music channel in the market.

08:12 EDT Skyworks California facility achieves AS9100D certification - Skyworks announced that its California facility has achieved AS9100D certification. Through its defense and space business, Skyworks is a global supplier of radiation-tolerant components for aerospace, defense, medical, extreme industrial and high-reliability markets and applications. AS9100D certification is an industry-recognized, international aerospace quality management system standard, which provides manufacturing suppliers such as Skyworks with a comprehensive quality system for providing products.

08:10 EDT OraSure receives BARDA funding for coronavirus antibody ELISA - OraSure Technologies announced it has been awarded a $629,217 contract from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to develop an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for the detection of human anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in oral fluid specimens. Currently, there are no oral fluid-based COVID antibody tests available with automated assays. This support from BARDA will help OraSure complete development and file for FDA Emergency Use Authorization, which would allow the laboratory-based microplate antibody test for oral fluid samples to enter into the U.S. market. This is the second COVID-related test for which the company has received BARDA funding. The first, a rapid, antigen in-home oral fluid self-test, was announced in April. This oral fluid ELISA is expected to increase laboratory COVID-19 antibody testing capacity and could play a vital role in detecting coronavirus antibodies which can be detected within one to three weeks after the onset of symptoms. Such tests could help identify people who had past COVID-19 infections, even without symptoms, potentially allowing them to safely return to work or other activities if data show antibody development with past infection translates to future immunity. In addition, this test could help meet an urgent need to screen the population, especially health care workers, for past asymptomatic infection and potential immunity against COVID-19. With this test, human antibodies found in oral fluid would be collected via a wand and pad and eluted into the OraSure oral fluid specimen collection device buffer for storage and transport, and later dispensed onto the ELISA microplate for testing in a laboratory. The assay, in conjunction with the collection device, would be utilized under FDA's Emergency Use Authorization. Under the initial EUA, if obtained, the collection device would be available for specimen collection in a physician's office, a lab or a testing facility. The EUA subsequently could be amended to permit an in-home or self-collection option. Being able to collect samples at home would promote social distancing and minimize healthcare workers' exposure to patients who potentially are infected. Oral fluid testing also provides an easier and pain-free sample collection method as compared to nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal samples or serology antibody tests which require a blood draw. Assuming product development and clinical testing are successful, OraSure is targeting initial product sales this summer with Emergency Use Authorization following shortly thereafter. In April, the company announced the first COVID-19 test in development with funding from BARDA. That test is a pan-SARS-coronavirus rapid antigen in-home self-test that uses oral fluid samples and provides results in-home or at the point of collection. OraSure is also working with laboratories and researchers to demonstrate the effectiveness of certain of its molecular sample collection technologies for coronavirus testing. To date, three of its sample collection devices have been incorporated into assays receiving FDA EUA, illustrating the versatility of its products for COVID-19 detection. Strong data on the usability of OraSure's molecular collection products support this usage of its products for COVID-19 related applications. This project has been funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, under Contract No. 75A50120C00122.

08:08 EDT Chico's expects $230M in savings from impact measures in FY20 - Chico's is not providing updated guidance at this time. The company does not currently expect significant inventory write-offs over the remaining three quarters of FY20. As a result of the company's measures to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it expects to realize expense savings of approximately $230M, or 24%, before rent expense. There were 9 permanent store closures and no store openings in Q1, and anticipates closing approximately 50 to 60 stores permanently over the remainder of FY20. Additionally, since the end of last year's Q, it has closed 84 stores.

08:07 EDT Vermillion completes validation of pre-surgical test offerings - Vermillion announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary ASPIRA Labs has completed laboratory validation of the Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody test for detecting the presence of COVID-19 antibodies. Our Laboratory has also completed validation of several additional oncology biomarkers. Both the COVID-19 antibody test and additional biomarkers will be used in an ASPIRA pelvic mass risk assessment pre-surgery workup. ASPIRA Labs selected to validate the Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody test because it detects both IgG and IgM antibodies. Testing for IgG and IgM antibodies yields a specificity of 99.81% and a sensitivity of 100%. The completed validation of COVID-19 antibody and additional pelvic mass risk assessment biomarkers will be offered commercially by the end of June in conjunction with our proprietary OVA1(R)plus test. The additional oncology biomarkers are CEA, CA19.9, LDH, Beta HCG, and AFP. These laboratory tests are essential in helping physicians identify less frequent ovarian tumor types as part of the pre-surgical workup.

08:05 EDT Curis announces FDA clearance of IND application for CI-8993 - Curis announced that the U.S. FDA has cleared its Investigational New Drug application for CI-8993, the first-in-class monoclonal anti-VISTA antibody. Curis plans to initiate a Phase 1a/1b study of CI-8993 in the second half of 2020.

08:04 EDT Qualigen Therapeutics signs license agreement with University of Louisville - Qualigen Therapeutics announced the signing of an exclusive license agreement with the University of Louisville to facilitate development of Qualigen's AS1411 DNA aptamer as a drug candidate for the treatment of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. AS1411 targets and binds with nucleolin, a human protein utilized by some viruses to enter a cell. Proof-of-concept in vitro studies recently performed at UofL demonstrate that by binding to nucleolin, AS1411 may protect cells from the damaging effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Qualigen has held an exclusive license to AS1411 for all fields of use since 2018. The new agreement provides a license under UofL's pending U.S. patent for the use of AS1411 for inhibiting or treating COVID-19. Qualigen has separately been developing ALAN as a drug candidate against cancer, under a previous technology license agreement with UofL. Under the new agreement, Qualigen agreed to pay UofL royalties in the low-to-mid-single-digit percentages on sales of AS1411 anti-COVID-19 products using UofL's technology or patents, and undertook to enter into a sponsored research agreement with UofL for further in vitro and preclinical animal studies with AS1411 as a drug candidate against COVID-19. In previous research, AS1411 was administered to more than 100 human cancer patients and was well tolerated with no evidence of severe side effects. In addition to developing ALAN and pursuing AS1411 as an anti-COVID-19 drug, because nucleolin has been implicated in mediating the uptake, nuclear trafficking and infectiousness of many viruses, Qualigen will also seek to investigate the potential use of AS1411 as a broader spectrum antiviral therapeutic.

08:03 EDT Pilgrim's Pride publishes 2019 sustainability achievements - Pilgrim's announced the release of its 2019 Sustainability Report and progress toward 2020 sustainability goals. The report transparently details the company's progress in the key priority areas of team member health and safety, product integrity, animal welfare, water and energy across its operations in the UK, Continental Europe, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United States. Achievements detailed in the 2019 report include: Team Members: Invested over $10 million and provided more than 255,000 hours of leadership training and development across our global operations; Environment: Achieved a 5% reduction in greenhouse gas emission intensity from 2018-2019; Animal Care: Participated in third-party animal handling audits at all production facilities, and passed 100% of external animal welfare audits; Communities: Pilgrim's U.S. launched the Tomorrow Fund, a full-ride scholarship program for our team members or their dependents; Suppliers: Partnered with more than 6,300 livestock and poultry family farms, providing payments of more than $1.8 billion in 2019. Progress toward 2020 goals includes: 37% improvement in the Pilgrim's Safety Index score year over year, compared to the goal of 15%; 14% reduction in greenhouse gas emission intensity, achieving the goal of 14%; 9% reduction in electricity use intensity, on track to meet the goal of 12%; 11% reduction in natural gas use intensity, on track to meet the goal of 14%; 8% increase in water use intensity, compared to the goal of a 10% decrease; On track to achieve a 90% or better score on the Pilgrim's Animal Health and Welfare Scorecard ; On track to achieve 100% vendor agreement with the Company's Supplier Code of Conduct.

08:01 EDT Catalyst Biosciences completes MarzAA pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic study - Catalyst Biosciences announced completion of its Phase 1 MAA-102 study for Marzeptacog alfa. The results support the use of SQ MarzAA to treat episodic bleeding. The company is on track to enroll the first patient in its Phase 3 registration trial evaluating the efficacy of SQ MarzAA to treat bleeding events in individuals with hemophilia A or B with inhibitors in 2020. The Phase 1 study was designed to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of single ascending dose levels of MarzAA and twice and thrice dosing of 60 undefined/kg at 3-hourly intervals in individuals with Hemophilia A or B with or without inhibitors. Catalyst reported positive interim data at the 13th Annual Congress of the European Association of Haemophilia and Allied Disorders on February 5, 2020 and final results will be presented at an upcoming scientific meeting.

07:52 EDT Gridsum says 'no previous relationship' with Mininglamp, Leading Smart Holdings - Gridsum clarified its relationship with Mininglamp Technology Group and Leading Smart Holdings, the joint filers of a Schedule 13D filed on June 9 with the U.S. SEC. As reported in the Schedule 13D, Mininglamp is an investment holding vehicle and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leading Smart Holdings. "In light of recent media speculation, the company would like to clarify that it has no previous relationship nor has it ever engaged in any discussions with Mininglamp or Leading Smart Holdings regarding any investment, business opportunity or cooperation. In addition, Gridsum is not aware of any existing relationship between it and the seller of the company's securities or any other counterparties of Mininglamp or Leading Smart Holdings mentioned in the Schedule 13D. Gridsum is committed to engaging in open and transparent dialogue with its investors and maintaining the highest standards of corporate governance."

07:40 EDT Curis soars 60% after USPTO posts patent for 3-kinase inhibitors - Shares of Curis are soaring after the United States Patent and Trademark Office posted yesterday a patent for the company regarding phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibitors with a zinc binding moiety. The instant application relates to deazapurines, thienopyrimidines and furopyrimidines with zinc-binding moiety based derivatives and their use in the treatment of phosphoinositide 3-kinase related diseases and disorders such as cancer, the agency said. Shares of Curis are up 64%, or 78c, to $2.00 in premarket trading. The stock closed Tuesday up 42% to $1.22.

07:39 EDT Verrica Pharmaceuticals appoints Diem Nguyen to board of directors - Verrica Pharmaceuticals (VRCA) announced the appointment of Diem Nguyen, Ph.D., M.B.A., to its Board of Directors. Nguyen most recently served as EVP, Biopharma, at PPD, Inc. (PPD), a global clinical research organization providing integrated drug development, laboratory, and lifecycle management services.

07:38 EDT FactSet head of sales Franck Gossieaux steps down - In a regulatory 8-K filing released yesterday, FactSet disclosed that its Global Head of Sales and Client Solutions, Franck Gossieaux, and the company entered into a Separation Agreement and General Release of Claims.

07:37 EDT Daktronics CEO remains 'positive' on overall future of business - CEO Reece Kurtenbach said, "In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a global pandemic, and in the following weeks, many countries and U.S. states and localities issued lock down orders impacting businesses globally. Like many other companies, the pandemic and related social reactions have impacted our business and have created an unprecedented and challenging time. Our growth-oriented focus of investing in the development of sales channels and new products for long-term success has turned to reacting to the new near-term realities of this uncertain business environment. We have taken actions to reduce costs and to focus on key priorities to position ourselves for a strong recovery when the crisis is over. However, the ensuing depth and length of impact to the economy and our customers reactions to the environment create uncertainties predicting fiscal 2021 opportunities. The market's increasing adoption and use of digital solutions, along with our new technology releases, cause us to remain positive on the overall future of our business and growth in the industry."

07:31 EDT Red Robin falls 8% to $15.50 pre-market after Q1 results miss estimates

07:20 EDT CB2 Insights announces delay in filing of financial statements - CB2 Insightsannounces an update further to its news release of April 20, 2020, with respect to: the filing its audited annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019 and the related management discussion and analysis; and the filing of its interim financial statements and related MD&A with respect to the interim period ended March 31, 2020. The Company will invoke the Ontario Instrument 51-502 Temporary Exemption from Certain Corporate Finance Requirements extending deadlines to file financial statements and MD&A's. Pursuant to the Blanket Order, the Company is relying on the relief therein for its audited financial statements, for the year end December 31, 2019, as required by Section 4.2 of National Instrument 51-102, the interim financial period ended March 31, 2020, as required by Section 4.3 of National Instrument 51-102 and the related MD&A as required by section 5.1(2) of National Instrument 51-102. The Company expects to file its audited financial statements and the related MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2019 on or before June 15, 2020 and its financial statements and the related MD&A for the interim period ended March 31, 2020 on June 30, 2020. In addition, the Company announces that it will host a conference call on Tuesday, June 16, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. to discuss the Company's 2019 annual results. The Company also expects to provide guidance on its first quarter 2020 interim results during the earnings call. Until the Company has filed and announced the required financial statements and related MD&A's, all management and other insiders are subject to the Company's share trading and black-out policy that reflects the principals in section 9 of National Policy 11-207 Failure-to-File Cease Trade Orders and Revocations in Multiple Jurisdictions.

07:16 EDT Standard Lithium starts commisioning of lithium carbonate crystallisation plant - Standard Lithium reports that it has completed the construction of its industrial-scale lithium carbonate crystallisation pilot plant and has now started the commissioning phase. The crystallisation plant is designed to take the intermediate product made by the Company's LiSTR direct lithium extraction process and convert it into a battery-quality lithium chemical as used by manufacturers in the lithium ion battery supply chain. The LiSTR plant recently started 24/7 operation at the project site in El Dorado, Arkansas. The lithium carbonate crystallisation plant has been designed around the Company's proprietary 'SiFT' crystallisation technology, which was recently demonstrated to produce greater than99.9% purity battery-quality lithium carbonate. The crystallisation plant has been constructed by Saltworks Technologies Inc. at their facility in the Greater Vancouver area. Initial commissioning of the SiFT plant has already begun, and so far, it has been hydraulically tested for integrity and all systems have been energised. Commissioning of the fully-automated control system is ongoing and is expected to be completed within 10 days. Following this, lithium chloride solutions previously produced by Standard Lithium will be used to continue the commissioning process and produce the first samples of lithium carbonate. The Company also wishes to clarify that a total of 437,025 share purchase warrants were previously issued on February 20, 2020, as compensation to certain arms-length third-parties that assisted in introducing subscribers to the offering of special warrants completed by the Company, and not 452,025 warrants as indicated in the Company's news release of February 21, 2020. For further information concerning the offering, and the terms of the warrants, readers should consult the news release of February 21, 2020.

07:13 EDT Calibre Mining commences phased restart of operations - Calibre Mining announced that it has commenced a phased restart of operations after extensive discussions with government representatives, employees, unions, contractors and other key stakeholders. The phased restart of operations will follow government regulations and World Health Organization guidelines with appropriate operating protocols and is expected to take between four and six weeks to reach steady-state production levels. To ensure the continued health and safety of our workforce we have implemented additional daily health procedures to monitor and respond in a timely fashion to changing circumstances with respect to health requirements, government regulations and safety protocols.

07:10 EDT Nasdaq Basic Canada launches on the cloud - Nasdaq announced it launched Nasdaq Basic Canada-a feed that provides investors around the globe with access to real-time quote and trade data for the full range of Canadian listed equities-on Nasdaq Cloud Data Services, which provides clients access to real-time equities, options, news, index, and fund data through cloud-based technology. Nasdaq Basic Canada combines data from Nasdaq CXC, CX2 and CXD trading books for all TSX, TSX Venture and CSE listed securities at up to 60% cost savings as compared to other marketplaces. This launch is the latest milestone in Nasdaq's commitment to provide the general investing public with easy, cost-effective price discovery for key equity markets in Canada. With Nasdaq Basic Canada, investors can feel confident they're accessing the same level of accuracy, liquidity, coverage and accessibility at a significant cost-savings.

07:08 EDT Ford, Volkswagen sign agreements to expand global alliance - Ford (F) and Volkswagen (VWAGY) signed agreements that expand their global alliance to meet evolving needs of their respective customers in Europe and other regions by leveraging "complementary strengths" in midsize pickup trucks and commercial and electric vehicles. The companies said they expect the alliance to enhance experiences for current and future customers by more rapidly innovating vehicle offerings, incorporating relevant new technologies, delivering better utility and offering more model choices. The companies anticipate continued growth in global industry demand for commercial vehicles and for electric vehicles to add scale to their individual product portfolios. The alliance will produce a medium pickup truck engineered and built by Ford, for sale by Volkswagen as the Amarok starting in 2022 within the Volkswagen commercial vehicles lineup The companies expect the alliance to strengthen the commercial-vehicles businesses of both companies as early as 2021 with a city delivery van based on the latest Caddy model, developed and built by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and later a 1-ton cargo van created by Ford. Lastly, the alliance is expected to lead to a Ford electric vehicle for Europe by 2023 built on Volkswagen's modular electric drive, or MEB, toolkit, expanding on Ford's zero-emission capabilities in the region. During the lifecycles of the products, the companies expect to produce up to a combined 8M of the medium pickup truck and both commercial vans included in the commercial relationships. Over several years starting in 2023, Ford could deliver 600,000 electric vehicles atop the MEB architecture, which is designed to combine space and performance with electric drive. The vehicle, which will be designed and engineered by Ford in Cologne-Merkenich, will add another nameplate to its own all-electric Mustang Mach-E, which will be introduced in 2021. Additionally, the companies will both work with Argo AI to form autonomous-vehicle businesses based on Argo AI's self-driving technology. Last week, Volkswagen closed its previously announced investment in Argo AI, the Pittsburgh-based company in which Ford already had ownership and development interests.

07:06 EDT Fulcrum Therapeutics expects cash to fund requirements into 1Q22 - The Company expects that its cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of $81.2M as of March 31, 2020, together with the $68.5M in gross proceeds from its private placement, will be sufficient to fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the first quarter of 2022.

07:03 EDT XP Inc. acquires Insurtech DM10, terms not disclosed - XP Inc. announced the acquisition of DM10, a marketplace that connects hundreds of independent distributors with the best Life Insurance and Pension Plan products, adding value through technology and education. With the transaction, XP enhances its distribution network in the insurance segment. One year after its inception, XP Seguros is the fastest growing company in the sector, according to FenaPrevi, and was the leader in net contributions and rollovers in the pension industry in April 2020. XP believes that it can be one of the market leaders in the next years by democratizing access to superior products and leveraging on its distribution expertise. Founded in 2007, DM10 maintains a presence across the national territory and has a network of approximately 1,000 active brokers, who will now have access to XP's product platform, commercial support and technology. The company was the first in the industry to offer a fully digital, open architecture platform, with high quality brokers and ongoing development of exclusive and differentiated products along with partner insurers. The completion of the transaction is subject to compliance with certain precedent conditions, including prior authorization from the Central Bank of Brazil, under the terms of the applicable regulations.

07:02 EDT Sanuwave Health enters LOI to acquire Celularity's UltraMist - SANUWAVE Health announced that it has entered into an exclusive, non-binding letter of intent to acquire Celularity's UltraMIST Ultrasound Healing Therapy asset as well as exclusive partnership rights for Celularity's wound care biologic products. Celularity is a privately held, clinical-stage cell therapeutics company delivering transformative allogeneic cellular therapies, engineered from the postpartum human placenta, in cancer, infectious disease, and degenerative disease. SANUWAVE will conduct an investor teleconference at 9:00 a.m. EDT today to discuss how the contemplated acquisition is expected to broaden its wound care portfolio and enhance its financial profile. The transaction is expected to close in July 2020. The funding for the acquisition will consist of a mix of funded term debt and equity. Existing SANUWAVE shareholders, directors and officers have committed over $5 million at $0.25 per share to assist in completing the transaction. SANUWAVE has engaged William Blair for investment banking services to arrange, negotiate and assist in the placement of debt capital for the proposed acquisition. William Blair is in advanced discussions with lenders for the debt capital. The contemplated acquisition is expected to be a transformative event for SANUWAVE and to represent a strategically and financially compelling growth opportunity for the Company. The contemplated transaction would broaden SANUWAVE's addressable market and combines two highly complementary energy transfer technologies with two biologic skin substitute products to create a platform of scale with an end-to-end product offering in the advanced wound care market. Furthermore, it would uniquely position SANUWAVE to address the entire advanced wound care patient pathway from the initial stages of treatment to closure. The treatment combination of UltraMISTand the dermaPACE System would create a significant opportunity to demonstrate improved patient outcomes over the current standard of care, initially for diabetic foot ulcers and across all wound indications in the future.

06:49 EDT Crown Crafts suspends dividend for Q1 - Crown Crafts reported that, in light of the uncertainty of the global effects of COVID-19, the board is not declaring a dividend with respect to Q1 which, if declared, would have been paid in July. "We are confident that our stockholders will agree that a temporary suspension of dividends in order to conserve cash during these turbulent economic times is in the best interests of the company and our stockholders," CEO Randall Chestnut said.

06:48 EDT Waddell & Reed reports preliminary AUM $64B as of May 31 - Compared to $60.9B on April 30.

06:41 EDT Red Robin sees average cash burn of $1M-$2M per week for Q2 - As of April 19, the company was not in compliance with certain financial covenants due to the negative impact of COVID-19 on its business. As a result, the company entered into the First Amendment to the Credit Agreement and Waiver on May 29 that waives compliance of the lease adjusted leverage ratio financial covenant and fixed charge coverage ratio financial covenant for the remainder of fiscal 2020 provided the company issues new equity generating net cash proceeds of at least $25M on or before November 13. Per the maximum cash balance limitation required in the Amendment, the company made a $59M repayment on the revolving line of credit on May 29 to ensure cash on hand did not exceed $30M. As of June 7, the company had $30M of cash on hand, $54M of available borrowing capacity under its revolving line of credit and expects an average cash burn of $1M-$2M per week for the second fiscal quarter.

06:36 EDT ReneSola to participate in consortium to develop solar plant in south of France - ReneSola announced that it will participate in a consortium to develop a large-scale ground-mounted solar plant in the south of France. The plant is expected to produce 46 GWh, and supply electricity to approximately 10,000 households per year. The consortium is led by Tenergie, the second largest independent power producer in France. Other members of the consortium include a power consulting company and a project crowdfunding company. The consortium will develop the power plant covering 30 hectares of leased land in the town of Aups. The plant will be owned by an entity, which in turn will be owned by the IPP, the Municipality of Aups. Local stakeholders and the individuals that participate in crowdfunding are involved in the project conception phase. The company estimates that a project of this size and design would typically have capacity of approximately 30 MW. Actual capacity will be subject to additional authorizations, such as permits needed for final project design.

06:36 EDT Red Robin seeing improvement in comparable restaurant revenue trends - Paul J.B. Murphy III, Red Robin's President and CEO, said, "We entered 2020 with accelerating business momentum, generating positive comparable restaurant revenue of 3.7% and positive Guest counts of 0.9% through the end of our second fiscal period. However, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an immediate shift of our priorities, inclusive of pivoting to a 100% off-premise model, the preservation of liquidity and the reduction of costs amid the ongoing uncertainty. Since the onset of the health crisis, we have significantly improved our off-premise execution, resulting in a material improvement in Guest satisfaction scores. Comparable restaurant revenue trends have also shown continual improvement week by week, including (39.7)% for the week ending June 7th. Importantly, we have recently begun opening dining rooms with limited capacities of up to 50% in our largest and highest volume market on the West Coast. In total, we have re-opened approximately 270 dining rooms with disciplined health and safety protocols and our new hospitality model we call TGX. Sales are exceeding our expectations, accompanied by record high dine-in Guest satisfaction scores and continued, strong retention of our elevated off-premise sales. For the week ending June 7th, restaurants with open dining rooms generated total comparable restaurant revenue of (26.7)%, including off-premise sales of 40% of total food and beverage sales. The substantive actions the organization implemented has positioned us well to not only manage through these near-term challenging times, but to succeed in the long-term, post-COVID environment."

06:27 EDT TSMC reports May revenue NT$93.82B, up 16.6% y/y - TSMC announced its net revenues for May 2020: On a consolidated basis, revenues for May 2020 were approximately NT$93.82B, a decrease of 2.3% from April 2020 and an increase of 16.6% from May 2019. Revenues for January through May 2020 totaled NT$500.42B, an increase of 33.9% compared to the same period in 2019.

06:14 EDT Singapore's HSA approves Gilead's remdesivir for COVID-19 treatment - Singapore's Health Sciences Authority, in consultation with its Medicines Advisory Committee, has granted conditional approval for Gilead Sciences Singapore Pte Ltd's Veklury, or remdesivir. This will allow infectious diseases specialists to administer remdesivir for the treatment of adult patients with COVID-19 infection, who: Have oxygen saturation less than or equal to 94%, or; Require supplemental oxygen, or; Require more intensive breathing support such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or invasive mechanical ventilation. The HSA said in a statement that "To optimize the use of remdesivir in COVID-19 management, HSA is working with the Ministry of Health and relevant experts to further define the subcategory of patients who are likely to benefit most from this medicine. Although the data on its efficacy and safety is very limited at this point in time, HSA has expedited the review of remdesivir given the urgent public health need during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the conditional approval, Gilead is required to collect the relevant safety data and to monitor the use of remdesivir. HSA will also require data from ongoing clinical studies to be submitted post-approval to ensure the continued safety and efficacy of the product."

06:07 EDT AbbVie, Genmab announce oncology collaboration to develop antibody products - AbbVie (ABBV) and Genmab (GMAB) announced that they have signed a broad collaboration agreement to jointly develop and commercialize three of Genmab's early-stage investigational bispecific antibody product candidates and enter into a discovery research collaboration for future differentiated antibody therapeutics for cancer. The companies will partner to develop Genmab's next-generation bispecific antibody programs, epcoritamab, or DuoBody-CD3xCD20, DuoHexaBody-CD37 and DuoBody-CD3x5T4. The collaboration combines Genmab's discovery and development engine and bispecific antibody therapeutic candidates with AbbVie's clinical expertise and antibody-drug conjugate, or ADC, platform. The discovery research collaboration will combine proprietary antibodies from both companies along with Genmab's DuoBody technology and AbbVie's payload and ADC technology to select and develop up to four additional differentiated next-generation antibody-based product candidates, potentially across both solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Genmab's DuoBody-CD3 technology engages and directs cytotoxic T cells selectively to tumors to elicit an immune response towards malignant tumor cells. AbbVie's ADC technology allows the delivery of a therapeutic toxin directly to cancer cells while sparing normal, healthy cells, providing for a more targeted, less toxic treatment approach. This collaboration will provide for the joint development and commercialization of the three bispecific antibody therapeutic candidates. For epcoritamab, the companies will share commercial responsibilities in the U.S. and Japan, with AbbVie responsible for further global commercialization. Genmab will book net sales in the U.S. and Japan and receive tiered royalties on remaining global sales. For DuoHexaBody-CD37, DuoBody-CD3x5T4 and any product candidates developed as a result of the companies' discovery research collaboration, Genmab and AbbVie will share responsibilities for global development and commercialization in the U.S. and Japan. Genmab retains the right to co-commercialize these products, along with AbbVie, outside of the U.S. and Japan. For the discovery research partnership, Genmab will conduct Phase 1 studies for these programs. AbbVie retains the right to opt-in to program development. Under the terms of the agreement, AbbVie will pay Genmab USD 750 million in upfront payment with the potential for Genmab to receive up to $3.15B in additional development, regulatory and sales milestone payments for all programs as well as tiered royalties between 22% and 26% on net sales for epcoritamab outside the U.S. and Japan. Except for these royalty-bearing sales, the parties share in pre-tax profits from the sale of products on a 50/50 basis. Included in these potential milestones are up to $1.15B in payments related to clinical development and commercial success across the three existing bispecific antibody programs. In addition, if all four next-generation antibody product candidates developed as a result of the discovery research collaboration are successful, Genmab is eligible to receive up to $2B in option exercise and success-based milestone payments.

05:56 EDT Vertex announces EC approval of label extension for KALYDECO - Vertex announced that the European Commission has granted approval of the label extension for KALYDECO to include the treatment of children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis, ages 6 months and older and weighing at least 5 kg, who have the R117H mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene - the most common residual function mutation underlying CF. Now approved, KALYDECO will be immediately available to additional eligible patients in Germany and shortly in countries where respective long-term reimbursement agreements have been previously secured. Vertex will work closely with all other relevant government authorities to secure access for eligible patients as quickly as possible.

05:53 EDT Illumina receives FDA EUA for COVIDSeq Test - Illumin is paving the way for large-scale, next-generation sequencing-based COVID-19 testing. The U.S. FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization for the Illumina COVIDSeq Test, a high-throughput, sequencing-based, in vitro diagnostic workflow enabling the detection of SARS-CoV-2. The end-to-end workflow extends the options available for labs to scale diagnostic testing. COVIDSeq uses upper respiratory specimens, including a nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swab, and delivers sample receipt to result in 24 hours using the NovaSeq 6000 Sequencing System. The differentiated diagnostic design includes 98 amplicons that target the full SARS-CoV-2 genome, creating accurate detection and high sensitivity. COVIDSeq is currently available to a limited number of early access sites, and is expected to be more broadly available this summer.