Stockwinners Market Radar for August 06, 2020 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:48 EDT Third Point Re, Sirius Group to combine in $788M cash and stock deal - Third Point Reinsurance (TPRE) and Sirius International Insurance Group, Ltd. (SG) announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for Third Point Re and Sirius Group to combine in a cash and stock transaction. The transformational transaction will create a global company with approximately $3.3B of tangible capital,1 to be renamed SiriusPoint Ltd. Sirius Group shareholders will have the ability to elect one of three options as consideration for each of their shares: 1) $9.50 in cash per share; 2) 0.743 of a Third Point Re share and a two-year Contingent Value Right which, taken together, guarantee that on the second anniversary of the closing date, the electing shareholders will have received equity and cash of at least $13.73 per share; or, 3) an aggregate of $0.905 in cash, a fraction of a Third Point Re common share, a fraction of a Series A Preference Share of Third Point Re, 0.190 of a 5-year warrant issued by Third Point Re, and $0.905 aggregate principal amount of an upside share instrument issued by Third Point Re. China Minsheng Investment Group, Sirius Group's majority shareholder, has agreed to select the third option and will receive $100 million in cash and approximately 58 million Third Point Re shares in addition to Series A Preference Shares, warrants, and other securities. Based on the closing price of Third Point Re stock on August 5, 2020, the transaction is valued at approximately $788 million. In addition, Third Point Re shareholders will be protected from up to $100 million of net incremental COVID-19 related losses at Sirius Group incurred in certain circumstances for three years following the closing.

18:00 EDT Caesars sees $350M in capital expenditures over the next 12 months - Says bars coming back could happen reasonably soon. Says this is most exciting growth opportunity in the last 25 years. Says has seen more than normal activity in the sports book. Says combination of assets and rewards database should put the company among the leaders in the space of iGaming and sports betting. Says everything is for sale everyday. Says not doing anything on the international front anytime soon. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

17:47 EDT DraftKings expands partnership with Major League Baseball - DraftKings and Major League Baseball announced a multi-year extension to remain the Official and Exclusive Daily Fantasy Sports, DFS, Partner of the League. The extension includes an expanded partnership providing for an increase in DraftKings' content rights, product integration, prizing and continued use of MLB images and video within DraftKings' DFS games. The extension of the partnership between Major League Baseball and DraftKings reinforces both entities' dedication to enhancing the overall gaming experience for sports fans. "MLB was our first official league partnership dating back to 2012," said Ezra Kucharz, DraftKings' chief business officer. "We share a mutual passion and commitment to innovation and fan engagement and are excited to continue our partnership through data and technology to advance our product and broaden engagement opportunities for baseball fans." Fans who engage with the dozens of MLB offerings from DraftKings will see the expanded partnership enables new and exclusive content surrounding each game throughout the regular season and postseason games, including innovative product integrations on MLB platforms that will provide new methods of engagement for fantasy and baseball fans alike. DraftKings will also have the rights to utilize the iconic official MLB silhouetted batter and all MLB Club logos within promotional marketing as well as in its DFS products. Additionally, DraftKings will now work in tandem with MLB for increased integration at All-Star Week activities and the MLB Postseason. This includes VIP experiences for fans such as on-field viewing of batting practices throughout the MLB season as well as trips to the World Series. The continuation of this partnership follows last year's announcement of DraftKings becoming an MLB Authorized Gaming Operator for sports wagering. "Fan engagement has been central to our partnership with DraftKings since we began working together almost a decade ago," said Kenny Gersh, MLB Executive Vice President, Gaming & New Business Ventures. "Together we have continually tried to enhance baseball fans' experiences with innovative gaming and entertainment options and we look forward to keep developing and building on those unique elements."

17:45 EDT Caesars CEO says 'encouraged by operating trends' - Tom Reeg, CEO of Caesars Entertainment, Inc., commented, "Our second quarter operating trends were negatively impacted as the majority of our properties remained closed during April and May 2020. Our properties began to reopen in late May and early June. All of the combined new Caesars Entertainment, Inc. regional properties are now reopened and we are encouraged by operating trends." Reeg continued, "Now that the merger has closed, our operating teams are fully engaged with integrating the two companies and executing on the synergy plans. Our number one priority remains the safety and security of our Team Members and Guests. Our COVID-19 operating plans for reopened properties are designed to ensure a safe and exciting environment for our Guests. We remain optimistic regarding an eventual recovery of travel and tourism in the U.S. and especially Las Vegas."

17:33 EDT TPI Composites names James Hilderhoff as Chief Commercial Officer - TPI Composites announced that it has hired James Hilderhoff as its Chief Commercial Officer, effective August 3, 2020. In this position, Jim will oversee all sales, service, business development and account management activities for the company's wind and strategic markets. Jim brings over 35 years of inexperience to TPI, including leadership positions in the transportation and power industries. Most recently, Jim served as Chief Commercial Officer - North America for Wabtec Corporation.

17:32 EDT Zosano announces partnership with EVERSANA to support launch of Qtrypta - Zosano Pharma Corporation announced it has partnered with EVERSANA, a leading provider of commercial services to the life science industry, to commercialize and distribute Qtrypta in the United States. Qtrypta is Zosano's transdermal microneedle product candidate for the acute treatment of migraine. In March, the FDA accepted a New Drug Application for Qtrypta and granted a Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA, goal date of October 20, 2020. If approved, Qtrypta would be the first and only microneedle patch indicated for the acute treatment of migraine. Zosano and EVERSANA will utilize EVERSANA's commercial execution expertise for marketing, market access, distribution, sales force deployment, reimbursement, and patient adherence support services. To optimize performance, EVERSANA's integrated data and analytics platform will analyze fully integrated data, predict product and patient needs, and inform commercial activities at launch of Qtrypta and thereafter. Under the terms of the agreement, the parties will cooperate to conduct activities over the term of the agreement pursuant to an anticipated $250M commercialization budget for Qtrypta. Zosano maintains ownership of the Qtrypta New Drug Application as well as all legal, regulatory, and manufacturing responsibilities for the product. EVERSANA receives exclusive right to conduct agreed commercialization activities, and will utilize its internal sales organization along with its other commercial capabilities for market access, marketing, distribution and patient support services for Qtrypta. EVERSANA will receive reimbursement of certain costs and a low double digit percentage of product profits when Zosano net sales surpass certain costs incurred by the parties pursuant to the commercialization budget. Zosano and EVERSANA retain the right to terminate the agreement upon certain events, including Zosano's right to terminate upon any change of control of Zosano. The term of the agreement is five years following the date of FDA approval.

17:29 EDT Dropbox says ended Q2 with 15M paying users - Says had a number of wins across a range of verticals in Q2. Sees FY20 gross margin 2% higher than FY19. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

17:21 EDT Emerson Electric invests in inmation Software, terms not disclosed - Emerson announced it has made an equity investment in inmation Software GmbH, a global software platform developer that further deepens Emerson's data management and integration capabilities, helping customers in process, discrete and hybrid industries advance their digital transformation programs to achieve Top Quartile performance. The investment will increase data visibility and provide unified, actionable information to empower fast decision-making and optimized operations. Emerson's Plantweb digital ecosystem and operational technology (OT) expertise combined with inmation's integrated software platform enable real-time information management across operations, process control and IT systems. inmation aggregates global operational data from across the enterprise into the Plantweb digital ecosystem to create an OT data lake - a centralized storage repository - that serves as the foundation for business intelligence and analytics. The terms of the investment were not disclosed.

17:16 EDT Novavax announces license agreement with Serum Institute of India - Novavax announced a license agreement with Serum Institute of India Private Limited for the development and commercialization of NVX-CoV2373, Novavax' COVID-19 vaccine candidate, in low- and middle-income countries and India. This agreement excludes major upper-middle and high-income countries, for which Novavax continues to retain rights. NVX-CoV2373 is a stable, prefusion protein made using Novavax' recombinant protein nanoparticle technology and includes Novavax' proprietary Matrix-M adjuvant.

17:11 EDT Montage Resources sees Q3 production 580-600 MMcfe/d

17:06 EDT Hoegh LNG Partners: Steffen Foreid to step down as CEO, CFO - Hoegh LNG Partners LP announced that on August 6, Steffen Foreid gave notice that he intends to step down from his position as the Partnership's CEO and CFO in order to pursue a career opportunity in a different business segment. Foreid will remain in his position until the earlier of (a) the date his successor is appointed and approved by the HMLP Board or (b) October 31, 2020. The HMLP Board is in the process of identifying a successor for the HMLP CEO/CFO position and intends to provide a further update in the near future.

17:03 EDT SolarWinds exploring potential Spin-off of MSP business - SolarWinds announced that its board of directors has authorized the company's management team to explore a potential spin-off of its MSP business into a newly created and separately traded public company. If completed, the standalone entity would provide broad and scalable IT service management solutions designed to enable managed service providers, or MSPs, to deliver outsourced IT services for their small and medium size business end-customers and more efficiently manage their own businesses. SolarWinds would retain its Core IT Management business focused primarily on corporate IT organizations. SolarWinds believes that, if completed, the potential spin-off would enable shareholders to more clearly evaluate the performance and future potential of each entity on a standalone basis, while allowing each to pursue its own distinct business strategy and capital allocation policy. If SolarWinds proceeds with the spin-off, it would be structured as a tax-free, pro-rata distribution to all SolarWinds shareholders as of a record date to be determined by the board of directors of SolarWinds. If completed, upon effectiveness of the transaction, SolarWinds shareholders would own shares of both companies.

17:00 EDT Taseko Mines: Draft Aquifer Protection Permit issued by ADEQ - Taseko Mines is pleased to confirm that the draft Aquifer Protection Permit has been issued by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. The public comment period commenced today and concludes on September 11.

16:57 EDT Liberty Broadband to acquire GCI Liberty in $1.2B deal - Liberty Broadband (LBRDA) and GCI Liberty (GLIBA) announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Liberty Broadband has agreed to acquire GCI Liberty in a stock-for-stock merger. Liberty Broadband's businesses consist of its interest in Charter Communications, Inc. ("Charter") and its subsidiary Skyhook. Liberty Broadband also announced today that its Board of Directors increased its repurchase authorization by $1 billion, bringing total authorization to $1.2 billion. Under the terms of the merger agreement: Each holder of GLIBA will receive 0.580 of a share of LBRDK; Each holder of GLIBB will receive 0.580 of a share of LBRDB; Each holder of GLIBP will receive one share of Liberty Broadband Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (with mirror terms to the current GLIBP); Cash to be issued in lieu of fractional shares. The foregoing percentages are based on approximately 26.5 million shares of LBRDA, approximately 2.5 million shares of LBRDB and approximately 153.0 million shares of LBRDK outstanding as of July 15, 2020 and approximately 101.3 million shares of GLIBA and approximately 4.5 million shares of GLIBB outstanding as of April 30, 2020 and approximately 7.2 million shares of GLIBP outstanding as of March 31, 2020. The companies expect the Combination to close in the first half of 2021, subject to potential COVID-19 related delays.

16:53 EDT Encompass Health to build 40-bed rehabilitation hospital in Cape Coral, Florida - Encompass Health announced it has placed land under contract and plans to build a freestanding, 40-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Cape Coral, Florida, to be named Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Cape Coral. Complementing local acute care services, the hospital will care for patients recovering from debilitating illnesses and injuries including strokes and other neurological disorders, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations and complex orthopedic conditions. The hospital will provide physical, occupational and speech therapies that aim to restore functional ability and quality of life and 24-hour care by registered nurses, many of whom are certified in rehabilitation nursing.

16:50 EDT Telephone and Data still sees FY20 TDS Telecom revenue $950M-$1.0B

16:44 EDT Uber CEO says trends in Europe have been encouraging - Says global geographic presence is a "huge advantage".

16:43 EDT BlackLine names Marc Huffman as CEO, effective January 1, 2021 - BlackLine announced that the board of directors has elected Marc Huffman as CEO, effective January 1st, 2021. Huffman currently serves as president and COO. Therese Tucker, who has served as CEO since founding BlackLine in 2001, will continue to serve on the company's board as executive chair. Prior to BlackLine, Huffman served as president of worldwide sales and distribution at NetSuite.

16:40 EDT Uber CEO says U.S. reopening has been uneven - Says Delivery segment saw "massive acceleration". Says Delivery business alone is now as big as Rides business. Says witnessing profound shift in consumer behavior that will last beyond the pandemic. Says company has cut over $1B in fixed costs. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

16:35 EDT Ready Capital raises share repurchase program to $25M - On August 4, the Board of Directors authorized an increase in the size of the company's existing stock repurchase program by an additional $5M, bringing the total amount authorized and available under the program to $25M.

16:34 EDT PennyMac Financial raises quarterly dividend 25% to 15c per share - PFSI's Board of Directors declared a second quarter cash dividend of $0.15 per share, a 25 percent increase from the prior quarter, payable on August 28, 2020, to common stockholders of record as of August 17, 2020.

16:32 EDT TripAdvisor sees cash refund of federal income taxes in 2021 due to CARES Act - TripAdvisor said: " Based on our preliminary evaluation of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or 'CARES Act,' we qualify for certain employee retention payroll tax credits and the deferral of payroll and other tax payments in the future, as well as certain income tax related provisions. We expect to receive a cash refund of federal income taxes in the second or third quarter of 2021 when our 2020 tax return is filed due to a five-year carryback of net operating loss incurred in 2020."

16:27 EDT Cable One sees negative impacts from pandemic continuing in Q3 - Cable One said, "The Company expects the negative impacts associated with the actions it took in response to the pandemic to continue into the third quarter of 2020, due primarily to reduced data overage fees, late charges and reconnect fees during the early part of the third quarter and elevated labor costs throughout the third quarter. However, the increase in residential data revenues associated with the significant number of residential data customers acquired during the second quarter of 2020 is anticipated to partially offset these reduced revenues and additional costs. In addition, the Company faces various uncertainties related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the overall economy and the Company's business, including whether it is able to sustain continued customer growth, its level of bad debt expense, and if some of the unexpected expense reductions realized during the second quarter of 2020 will continue or if those expenses will return to more normal levels as certain areas of the country ease pandemic-related restrictions."

16:24 EDT FleetCor names Charles Freund CFO - FleetCor announced that Charles Freund - executive vice president for strategy - has been named chief financial officer effective September 1, 2020. After 18 years with the Company, Eric Dey, the Company's current chief financial officer, will retire but will remain on as a senior advisor at the Company through the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities. "I want to congratulate Charles on his appointment. Over the last 20 years, he has held many roles which affords him great perspective along with many company-wide relationships. He's worked on M&A, run lines of business, led our strategy development, and effectively served as my chief of staff. I am confident Charles will perform exceptionally well in his new role as CFO and lead FLEETCOR through its next phase of growth," said Ron Clarke, chairman and chief executive officer of FLEETCOR Technologies, Inc.

16:22 EDT Marcus & Millichap names Steve Degennaro CFO - Marcus & Millichap announced the appointment of Steve DeGennaro as Chief Financial Officer effective August 17, 2020. Mr. DeGennaro will succeed Marty Louie, Chief Financial Officer since 2010. As previously announced, Mr. Louie will remain with the Company in the role of SVP of Corporate Initiatives, ensuring a seamless transition and contributing to the management and execution of the Company's various growth initiatives. Hessam Nadji, President and CEO of Marcus & Millichap stated, "We are excited to conclude a comprehensive search to fill the Chief Financial Officer position with a highly capable veteran in Steve. Steve is a proven finance leader with expertise in key areas essential to MMI's strategic plan. His insights and extensive experience in technology and growth-oriented businesses will bring a fresh perspective to the leadership team. I am delighted to welcome Steve to the Marcus & Millichap team, and we look forward to his contributions."

16:22 EDT Univar announces Streamline 2022 Program - Univar Solutions announced its Streamline 2022 program. S22 is designed to accelerate growth and increase earnings through a renewed focus on operational efficiency and cost reduction with a greater emphasis on, and the integration of, the company's digital capabilities, as well as a global approach to certain of the company's dedicated end market verticals. The program, which may result in the sale of certain non-core assets, is expected to improve operational agility, drive faster sales growth, particularly in North America, reduce leverage to 3.0x by the end of 2021, and improve EBITDA margins to 9% by the end of 2022. S22 also encompasses a range of senior organizational alignments resulting in direct functional reporting of the North American segments to David Jukes, president and chief executive officer. Related to S22, the Company may incur up to an incremental $50 million in charges in 2020, of which approximately $20 million would require cash. Expected cash proceeds from any divestments of non-core assets are greater than $200 million.

16:16 EDT Eventbrite appoints Vivek Sagi as Chief Technology Officer - Eventbrite announced the appointment of Vivek Sagi as Chief Technology Officer, effective August 11. In this role, Sagi will lead the company's global engineering team to drive innovation for event creators around the world. "Sagi brings more than two decades of experience as a serial entrepreneur and engineering executive and joins Eventbrite from RetailMeNot, where he spent the past two years as chief technology officer. Prior to his post at RetailMeNot, Sagi held leadership positions at Amazon, first as the chief technology officer of Woot.com, an Amazon company, and then as the global head of product and engineering for Amazon Business Procurement Solutions, where he led teams across the U.S., Asia and Europe and delivered significant business growth," the company said.

16:11 EDT ExOne says ops results still impacted by manufacturing downturn - ExOne CEO John Hartner commented, "Our operating results continue to be impacted by a prolonged downturn in the global manufacturing sector, which has influenced the capital expenditures of our customers. Despite these headwinds, we ended the second quarter with a record backlog of $38.2 million. We expect the combination of our backlog, our recurring revenue stream and an acceleration in market adoption of our technology to provide the basis for operating stability for the remainder of 2020 and into 2021, despite continuing negative macroeconomic trends."

16:05 EDT Aerie Pharmaceuticals says AR-15512 remains on track for year end study - The company said, "We continue to execute on our goals with our clinical programs and plans, both in the United States and abroad. Our recently announced positive topline results for AR-1105, which indicated up to six months of sustained efficacy, show the broad prospects of our sustained delivery retina platform. In Europe, we expect the Mercury 3 topline readout later in the third quarter, which will highlight Roclanda intraocular pressure reducing performance compared to Ganfort(R). Our most advanced pipeline product candidate, AR-15512, remains on track for a large-scale Phase 2b trial to commence by year-end 2020, and we are excited for its potential in the large dry eye market with significant unmet needs. Finally, we remain well-funded with approximately $242 million of cash and investments as of June 30, 2020, and our second quarter net cash used in operating activities was a relatively low $22.9 million compared to the past several quarters."

16:04 EDT Booking Holdings says booking trends improving since April - "We faced a challenging second quarter and continue to face challenges due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel demand. However, we have witnessed improvement in booking trends since April, which is encouraging. Looking forward, we continue to execute on our operating plans to navigate the company through these challenging times and enable us to emerge from this crisis in a position of strength," said CEO Glenn Fogel.

16:00 EDT AtriCure names Angie Wirick CFO - AtriCure announced that Andy Wade is stepping down from the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for personal reasons and moving into an advisory role through March 5, 2021. Angie Wirick, current Vice President of Finance, has been promoted to CFO effective immediately. "On behalf of our team at AtriCure and our Board of Directors, I want to thank Andy for his contributions to our company over the past 13 years," said Michael Carrel, President and Chief Executive Officer of AtriCure. "Andy has been instrumental to our global success and position of financial strength. Through his strong leadership, we achieved critical milestones to build AtriCure's foundation and position our company for accelerated growth. These accomplishments have propelled our company to new levels of success and created significant shareholder value."

15:38 EDT Gilead says remdesivir manufacturing network now includes more than 40 companies - Gilead in an update posted to its site: "Since January, Gilead has taken multiple steps to ramp up production and rapidly build supply of our investigational COVID-19 treatment Veklury - remdesivir - preparing for potential global demand at risk, in recognition of the lengthy manufacturing timeline. In addition to process improvements that have shortened the manufacturing timeline to six months, Gilead has expanded its global network of both internal manufacturing sites and external organizations, including partnering with industry peers, to add manufacturing capacity around the world. Our Veklury manufacturing network now includes more than 40 companies in North America, Europe and Asia. By working together in a coordinated fashion, this network of partners is supporting us to meet global patient needs. We have increased supply more than 50-fold since January and anticipate being able to meet real-time global demand starting in October. We plan to produce more than two million treatment courses by the end of the year, and we anticipate producing several million more in 2021, if needed. Beyond this network, Gilead has also entered into voluntary licensing agreements with nine generics manufacturers to further expand supply of remdesivir to 127 countries that represent nearly all low-income and lower-middle income countries. Gilead has completed technology transfers with these companies, and they are beginning the manufacturing process." Reference Link

14:32 EDT Mad Mobile to acquire CAKE from Sysco, terms not disclosed - Mad Mobile announced it has signed an agreement to acquire CAKE, a restaurant technology company based in Silicon Valley and owned by Sysco Corporation. The CAKE Point-of-Sale solution serves more than 5,000 restaurant locations today. The transaction is expected to close by September 30, 2020. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

14:25 EDT Facebook removed 798 inauthentic accounts in July - Facebook said that, in July, it removed nine networks of accounts, Pages and Groups. The company reported the removal of four of these networks at the beginning of July, and it is sharing the remaining five today. More than half of these networks focused on domestic audiences in their own countries, including in the United States, Brazil, Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Yemen. Much of the activity we removed in July was linked to commercial entities and individuals associated with political campaigns and political offices. "We've seen and taken action against domestic political figures using CIB in the past, and we know they will continue to attempt to deceive and mislead people," Facebook said. "Domestic campaigns like these raise a particularly complex challenge by blurring the line between healthy public debate and manipulation. Our teams will continue to find, remove and expose these coordinated manipulation campaigns, but we know these threats extend beyond our platform and no single organization can tackle them alone. That's why it's critical that we, as a society, have a broader discussion about what is acceptable political advocacy and take steps to deter people from crossing the line." The company noted that 798 Facebook accounts, 259 Instagram accounts, 669 Pages, and 69 Groups had been removed in the month. Reference Link

14:18 EDT Airlines rise as U.S. lifts global Level 4 health advisory for travel - On August 6, in close coordination with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of State lifted the Global Level 4 Health Advisory, the Department announced. "The Global Advisory, initially put in place on March 19, 2020, advised U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19. With health and safety conditions improving in some countries and potentially deteriorating in others, the Department is returning to our previous system of country-specific levels of travel advice (with Levels from 1-4 depending on country-specific conditions), in order to give travelers detailed and actionable information to make informed travel decisions. This will also provide U.S. citizens more detailed information about the current status in each country. We continue to recommend U.S. citizens exercise caution when traveling abroad due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic." Publicly traded airlines include Alaska Air (ALK), American Airlines (AAL), Delta Air Lines (DAL), JetBlue (JBLU), Southwest (LUV), Spirit Airlines (SAVE) and United Airlines (UAL).

13:05 EDT Izea announces signing of unnamed Fortune 500 financial services customer - Izea Worldwide announced that it has secured a contract with an unnamed "Fortune 500 financial services customer" for influencer marketing software and services. "The customer represents a win-back for Izea after a period of non-activity and the agreement increases the size and scope of the relationship with Izea," the company stated. "We are continuing to see meaningful recovery and momentum in our managed services bookings following the initial negative impacts we felt when COVID-19 first hit. This software licensing win is encouraging, and we are hopeful that as more organizations gain confidence and visibility in their own business that they will feel more comfortable entering into long term licensing agreements," added Ted Murphy, Izea's Chairman and CEO.

13:02 EDT Kroger launches contactless payments pilot in QFC division - The Kroger Co. announced the launch of a contactless payments pilot across the QFC division, located in Seattle, Wash., allowing customers to use their mobile device for a more seamless checkout experience. The pilot includes the acceptance of Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Fitbit Pay, mobile banking apps and contactless chip cards, underpinned by near-field communication technology. Kroger's technology team recently enabled NFC payments at 61 QFC stores.

12:42 EDT Altisource sinks with Q2 foreclosure initiations down 85% from last year - Shares of Altisource Portfolio Solutions are sinking after the company said in its earnings release, "In the second quarter, Altisource faced an unprecedented and challenging business environment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As anticipated, Altisource's second quarter financial results reflect this impact with industrywide foreclosure initiations down by approximately 85% and lender completed foreclosures down by 75% compared to the second quarter of 2019. Despite this difficult environment, we acted quickly to reduce costs, work to mitigate the impact to our customers and support the safety of our employees...We anticipate this short to medium term pressure on our default related businesses to continue with governmental forbearance programs and moratoriums temporarily preventing servicers from pursuing foreclosure of delinquent loans and with the news from Ocwen that an MSR investor instructed it to move certain referrals for field services to another service provider beginning in July." The stock in midday trading is down 26%, or $3.66, to $10.42.

12:19 EDT Dominion says power restored to over 97% of affected customers - Dominion said in a release, "Dominion Energy crews continued restoration efforts following Tropical Storm Isaias, working around the clock to return service to customers impacted by the storm. As of 10 am Thursday, service had been restored to more than 97% of 508,000 customers who lost power across Virginia and North Carolina. The company's focus Thursday is on restoration for all remaining customers without power, as the company continues to deploy additional crews to hardest hit areas, including Hampton Roads/Eastern Virginia and the Northern Neck. This week, the company has dedicated more than 7,000 workers to restoration efforts, with crews from Dominion Energy in Virginia and the Carolinas and from utilities as far away as Oklahoma. The company expects service will be restored to most of those impacted by end-of-day Thursday, with remaining customers in the hardest hit areas expected to be restored Friday. Harder hit areas can sometimes take longer to address because of the extent of the damage and the complexity of required repairs. Crews have made necessary repairs at more than 5,500 of the more than 7,000 locations where damage has been reported."

12:04 EDT 56 NFL players COVID positive since training camp began, union says - The National Football League Players Association announced that 56 NFL players have tested for COVID-19 since training camps opened. 107 players tested positive during the offseason, the NFLPA notes. Publicly traded companies in the gambling space include Boyd Gaming (BYD), Caesars (CZR), Churchill Downs (CHDN), DraftKings (DKNG), Flutter Entertainment (PDYPY), Gan Limited (GAN), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), MGM Resorts (MGM), Penn National (PENN), William Hill (WIMHY) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN).

12:00 EDT Arlo Technologies rises 25.1% - Arlo Technologies is up 25.1%, or $1.25 to $6.22.

11:53 EDT New York Attorney General James files lawsuit to dissolve NRA - New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit seeking to dissolve the National Rifle Association. According to a statement, "Attorney General James charges the organization with illegal conduct because of their diversion of millions of dollars away from the charitable mission of the organization for personal use by senior leadership, awarding contracts to the financial gain of close associates and family, and appearing to dole out lucrative no-show contracts to former employees in order to buy their silence and continued loyalty. The suit specifically charges the NRA as a whole, as well as Executive Vice-President Wayne LaPierre, former Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer Wilson "Woody" Phillips, former Chief of Staff and the Executive Director of General Operations Joshua Powell, and Corporate Secretary and General Counsel John Frazer with failing to manage the NRA's funds and failing to follow numerous state and federal laws, contributing to the loss of more than $64M in just three years for the NRA. In the complaint, Attorney General James lays out dozens of examples where the four individual defendants failed to fulfill their fiduciary duty to the NRA and used millions upon millions from NRA reserves for personal use, including trips for them and their families to the Bahamas, private jets, expensive meals, and other private travel. In addition to shuttering the NRA's doors, Attorney General James seeks to recoup millions in lost assets and to stop the four individual defendants from serving on the board of any not-for-profit charitable organization in the state of New York again." It further states that, "the NRA is alleged to have fostered a culture of noncompliance and disregard for internal controls that led to the waste and loss of millions in assets and contributed to the NRA reaching its current deteriorated financial state. The NRA's internal policies were repeatedly not followed and were even blatantly ignored by senior leaders. Furthermore, the NRA board's audit committee was negligent in its duty to ensure appropriate, competent, and judicious stewardship of assets by NRA leadership. Specifically, the committee failed to assure standard fiscal controls, failed to respond adequately to whistleblowers, affirmatively took steps to conceal the nature and scope of whistleblower concerns from external auditors, and failed to review potential conflicts of interest for employees. The lawsuit alleges that the four men instituted a culture of self-dealing, mismanagement, and negligent oversight at the NRA that was illegal, oppressive, and fraudulent. They overrode and evaded internal controls to allow themselves, their families, favored board members, employees, and vendors to benefit through reimbursed expenses, related party transactions, excess compensation, side deals, and waste of charitable assets without regard to the NRA's best interests. The complaint lays out numerous other instances in which LaPierre, Phillips, Powell, Frazer, and other executives and board members at the NRA abused their power and illegally diverted or facilitated the diversion of tens of millions of dollars from the NRA. These funds were in addition to millions of dollars the four individual defendants were already receiving in grossly excessive salaries and bonuses that were not in line with the best practices and prudent standards for evaluating and determining compensation." Companies in the firearm space include Sturm, Ruger (RGR), Smith & Wesson Brands (SWBI), and Vista Outdoor (VSTO).Reference Link

11:34 EDT CenterPoint Energy: 'Nothing off the table' in business review

11:34 EDT CenterPoint Energy reviewing stake in Enable Midstream

11:33 EDT Editas Medicine, Beam Therapeutics not commenting on rumor of potential tie-up - Shares of both Editas Medicine (EDIT) and Beam Therapeutics (BEAM) are on the rise on Thursday after it was reported that rumors have circulated on Twitter regarding a possible tie-up of the companies. Contacted by The Fly, Editas Medicine (EDIT) said the company "doesn't comment on rumors." Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Beam Therapeutics also told The Fly that "the company does not comment on stock movement." In late morning trading, shares of Editas have gained almost 14% to $37, while Beam Therapeutics' stock has jumped about 13% to $24.

11:09 EDT OCC announces $80M civil money penalty against Capital One - The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC, announced that it has assessed an $80M civil money penalty against Capital One, N.A., and Capital One Bank N.A. "The OCC took these actions based on the bank's failure to establish effective risk assessment processes prior to migrating significant information technology operations to the public cloud environment and the bank's failure to correct the deficiencies in a timely manner. In taking this action, the OCC positively considered the bank's customer notification and remediation efforts. While the OCC encourages responsible innovation in all banks it supervises, sound risk management and internal controls are critical to ensuring bank operations remain safe and sound and adequately protect their customers," the OCC stated.

10:37 EDT Amag finds 'immaterial errors' in Makena revenue from 2016 to 2020 - Amag Pharmaceuticals said earlier in its earnings release, "The financial figures and statements referenced herein have been adjusted to correct immaterial errors in Makena revenue in the historical periods 2016 through the first quarter of 2020; in aggregate, Makena revenue is reduced by $6.3 million over the four-year period. This error was identified by the company during the second quarter of 2020 and relates to the timely accrual of certain governmental rebates. The company and our independent auditors are still reviewing the prior period financial statements and the potential impact on our internal controls over financial reporting for the periods. Therefore, the financials set forth in this release are preliminary and may be updated in the company's quarterly report on Form 10Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2020. As a result, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these financial statements."

10:29 EDT Fastenal reports July sales up 2.6% to $469.51M - Fastenal reports July net sales of $469.51M, up 2.6% compared to the same month of 2019. Reports July daily sales of $21.34M, up 2.6% year-over-year. Reference Link

10:12 EDT United Airlines cleaning flight decks with UVC lighting - United Airlines said in a release, "United Airlines is now cleaning pilot flight decks with Ultraviolet C, or UVC, lighting technology on most aircraft at its hub airports to disinfect the flight deck interior and continue providing pilots with a sanitary work environment. The airline is using handheld, AUVCo blades from the American Ultraviolet company to kill any viruses that may reside on sensitive switches and touch screen displays within the flight deck. United has tested a variety of uses for UVC lighting as a disinfectant and consulted with its United CleanPlus partners at the Cleveland Clinic to determine that the flight deck was the most effective use of the technology. United currently uses electrostatic spraying to disinfect its aircraft cabins, one of the most effective techniques to clean around harder to reach surfaces, particularly overhead bins and spaces within tray tables. United's use of UVC lighting in the flight deck - along with electrostatic spraying in the cabin - further reflects the airline's approach of matching the right type of technology to the right settings. This latest enhancement of using UVC lighting technology is another way United is working with its partners at the Cleveland Clinic to guide its policies and procedures on safety and cleanliness."

10:00 EDT Tenneco falls -17.2% - Tenneco is down -17.2%, or -$1.48 to $7.13.

10:00 EDT Maxar Technologies rises 14.9% - Maxar Technologies is up 14.9%, or $3.08 to $23.81.

10:00 EDT Pretium Resources rises 21.2% - Pretium Resources is up 21.2%, or $2.12 to $12.10.

09:55 EDT Editas Medicine, Beam Therapeutics rise attributed to rumor of potential tie-up - Shares of Editas Medicine (EDIT) are up 15% to $37.47 in early trading while Beam Therapeutics (BEAM) is up 13% to $24 per share after it was reported that rumors have circulated on Twitter regarding a possible tie-up of the companies. Representatives of Editas and Beam have declined to comment to Bloomberg on speculation on Twitter about a potential merger and The Fly has reached out to both companies for further comment.

09:47 EDT Amneal Pharmaceuticals falls -14.6% - Amneal Pharmaceuticals is down -14.6%, or -77c to $4.50.

09:47 EDT Blue Apron falls -20.4% - Blue Apron is down -20.4%, or -$2.32 to $9.06.

09:47 EDT Vista Outdoor rises 19.5% - Vista Outdoor is up 19.5%, or $3.56 to $21.80.

09:42 EDT Calumet Specialty: CFO H. Keith Jennings to resign, pursue other interests - Calumet Specialty Products Partners announced that H. Keith Jennings notified the Board of Directors of Calumet that he plans to resign as Executive Vice President & CFO effective August 31, 2020 to pursue other interests closer to his family in Texas. Steve Mawer, CEO of Calumet, commented, "On behalf of everyone at Calumet, I want to thank Keith for everything he has accomplished during his time at Calumet. We have a strong finance team and we appreciate that Keith will be staying on for a full month to ensure a seamless transition. We've already started the transition process and will share the outcome of that in due course."

09:30 EDT Inseego appoints Craig Foster as CFO - Inseego said in a release, "Inseego announced that Craig Foster has been appointed Executive Vice President and CFO, effective August 17. Foster will succeed Stephen Smith, who will be stepping down from the CFO role to pursue other interests. Smith will continue with Inseego in a consulting role to support the transition. Foster most recently served as CFO at Bright Machines, a spin-out of Foxconn focused on software for manufacturing."

09:22 EDT Ceridian appoints Joe Korngiebel as EVP, chief product and technology officer - Ceridian (CDAY) announced that it has hired Joe Korngiebel as Executive Vice-President, Chief Product and Technology Officer. Reporting to Leagh Turner, Ceridian's President and CO, Mr. Korngiebel will lead the product and technology teams to continue the company's focus on innovation. Over the last 20 years, Mr. Korngiebel's most recent tenure was at Workday (WDAY) where he served as CTO.

09:16 EDT Surna announces $2.8M sales contract - Surna announced that it recently signed a sales contract valued at $2.8 million. The project in Illinois is for a multi-state operator with whom Surna has worked on previous facilities in other states. The facility is approximately 88,000 square feet, of which approximately 66,000 square feet is dedicated to cultivation, drying and processing areas. Surna is under contract to provide a full suite of climate control products and technologies for the cultivation and processing spaces, supply of major mechanical equipment, SentryIQ environmental controls, and system start-up. While Surna can and does provide MEP design and equipment for a wide range of climate control approaches, in this case the priorities of reducing electrical infrastructure requirements and reducing roof loading, along with the desire for precise control of the facility's environment, resulted in the selection of a 4-pipe hydronic system. The design has integrated dehumidification, in which Surna is providing its proprietary line of multi-function fan coils, destratification fans, dehumidifiers and heat recovery chillers.

09:12 EDT Greenlight Capital's Einhorn: Tesla short detracted from performance in Q2

09:11 EDT Eve & Co signs licensing agreement with Colio Estate Wines - Eve & Co announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Natural MedCo, has signed a supply agreement with Colio Estate Wines. The supply agreement contemplates developing a premium cannabis-infused wine-based beverage for distribution by Eve & Co and licensing for the Girls' Night Out brand. The term of the license agreement is for an initial three-year period with a two-year option in favour of NMC and contemplates licensing royalties for the cannabis-infused beverage to enter the adult-use market in 2020.

09:09 EDT MPLX enters strategic JV with WhiteWater Midstream, West Texas Gas - WhiteWater Midstream said in a release, "WhiteWater Midstream, MPLX LP, and West Texas Gas, or WTG, have recently formed a Joint Venture, or JV, to provide natural gas liquids takeaway capacity from MPLX and WTG gas processing plants in the Permian Basin to the NGL fractionation hub in Sweeny, TX. WhiteWater Midstream's Investment in the JV is backed by Ridgemont Equity Partners, Denham Capital Management and the Ontario Power Generation Inc. Pension Plan. The JV will provide an optimized approach to pipeline transportation service for NGLs primarily through the utilization of existing infrastructure with limited initial construction. The solution will facilitate future, capital-efficient expansions that meet customer demands in a recovering basin. The JV is supported by volumes from key processing plants with long-term commitments from top-tier Permian producers."

09:09 EDT Usio says prepaid business growth trajectory accelerating - "Our prepaid business has experienced phenomenal growth this year, with a key growth metric and a leading indicator of future revenue, total funds loaded onto cards, up 690% at July 31, 2020 compared to funds loaded onto cards as of the same point a year ago," commented Louis Hoch, President and Chief Executive Officer of Usio. "And, the growth rate has been accelerating, as total funds loaded onto cards as of July 31, 2020 is up 120% compared to the end of June 2020 and up 390% as compared to the end of May 2020, reflecting the dramatic uptick in the adoption of our government assistance card programs. Our success is based on our innovative technology, our strong relationships with our clients, and our strategic focus on opportunities that leverage our scalable solutions. We're becoming known in the market as a very responsive and flexible partner capable and willing to implement prepaid solutions quickly and efficiently, which we believe will contribute to our ongoing growth."

09:07 EDT Build-A-Bear cancels in-store "Pay Your Age" day event in response to COVID-19 - Build-A-Bear is canceling its annual in-store "Pay Your Age Day" event, due to challenges stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the brand will be hosting its first "NO LINE, ON-LINE Bear-Building Sale!" on August 12, a virtual event for members of the Build-A-Bear Bonus Club rewards program from home.

09:06 EDT Greenlight Capital Re 'acutely selective of business we keep'

09:06 EDT Megalith Financial enters agreement to combine with BankMobile Technologies - BankMobile Technologies, a subsidiary of Customers Bank and Megalith Financial Acquisition entered into a definitive merger agreement. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will operate as BM Technologies Inc. and expects to be listed on the NYSE. The transaction reflects an enterprise value for the Company of $140 million. All BMT serviced deposits and loans will remain at Customers Bank immediately after the closing of the transaction. Upon the closing of the transaction, BM Technologies will be a financial technology company bringing banks and business partners together through its digital banking platform. With over 2 million accounts, BankMobile Technology is one of the largest digital banking platforms in the country. Launched in January 2015, BankMobile's mission has been to provide a compliant, mobile-first banking experience that is simple, affordable, and consumer-friendly. Named "Most Innovative Bank" by LendIt in 2019, BankMobile's B2B2C Go-To-Market-Strategy leverages a multi-partner distribution model to generate high volume, low cost, customer acquisitions. BankMobile provides its Banking-as-a-Service platform to colleges and universities through BankMobile Disbursements, which reaches approximately one in every three college students in the country. Additionally, BankMobile recently announced the execution of an agreement with Google to introduce digital bank accounts, which will be available to its customers. BankMobile has also expanded its White-Label strategy most recently with T-Mobile for the launch of T-Mobile MONEY. The business combination transaction reflects an enterprise value for the Company of approximately $140 million. Customers Bank is to receive approximately $97 million in consideration comprised of cash, stock in the Company, and approximately $10 million in value attributed to a new technology license with BMT, with the total consideration subject to potential adjustment based on certain factors described in the merger agreement for the business combination. In addition, at the closing, Customers Bank may be repaid a portion of the $40 million debt owed to it by BMT with the new Company assuming any unpaid debt. MFAC has received binding commitments of approximately $20 million for a common stock private placement, which commitments exceed the minimum cash closing condition required by the Merger Agreement. MFAC's sponsor entity will forfeit the vast majority of its founder shares at the closing of the Transactions. The cash component of the consideration will be funded by a portion of MFAC's cash in trust as well as a private placement from institutional investors and MFAC's sponsor that will close concurrently with the closing of the business combination, in addition to BankMobile's cash on its balance sheet in excess of an agreed upon cash reserve. The balance of the consideration will consist of shares of common stock in the combined Company, each to be valued at $10.38 per share. Customers Bank is expected to remain the largest investor in the Company by rolling over significant equity into the combined Company. Customers Bank will be subject to a standard lock-up period, but plans to reduce its ownership stake in BM Technologies gradually after the closing of the transaction. In light of the relationship between MFAC's sponsor and certain officers and directors of BankMobile's ultimate parent entity Customers Bankcorp, both MFAC and CUBI appointed special committees consisting of independent directors with full access to counsel and financial advisors. The special committees of each party reviewed this transaction and made unanimous recommendations to their respective boards of directors for approval. The transaction is structured as a forward subsidiary merger, whereby BankMobile will merge with a newly-formed subsidiary of MFAC, with MFAC's merger subsidiary continuing as the surviving entity and a wholly-owned subsidiary of MFAC. At the closing of the transaction, MFAC will change its name to BM Technologies. The business combination and related equity financing are expected to close in the fourth quarter 2020, pending MFAC stockholder approval and regulatory approval.

09:05 EDT ViacomCBS expects to realize $800M in annual cost synergies by end of 2022 - Up from prior target of $750M.

09:01 EDT Tonix Pharmaceuticals announces clearance of IND for TNX-102 SL - Tonix Pharmaceuticals announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the Investigational New Drug application for the initiation of a Phase 2 proof-of-concept study using TNX-102 SL for treatment of alcohol use disorder. The program in AUD is expected to qualify for the 505(b)(2) pathyway for FDA approval.

08:56 EDT Blink Charging, SemaConnect sign interoperability agreement - Blink Charging and SemaConnect announced the signing of an interoperability agreement today. The two-year, renewable deal will commence in 2021. Blink and SemaConnect customers will be able to seamlessly roam between charging networks without the need for additional cards or accounts. The agreement will serve to increase range confidence for Blink and SemaConnect members by expanding available charging infrastructure utilizing the interoperability agreement, to more than 15,000 units, located at apartment buildings, workplaces, hospitals, universities, municipalities, and retailers. The interoperability between two leading EV charging providers will create a seamless charging experience for the companies' members.

08:55 EDT Marrone Bio, Vive Crop Protection partner for crop protection solutions - Marrone Bio Innovations and Vive Crop Protection announced an agreement that will provide a suite of ground-breaking products for U.S. growers that combine a leading biological with proven conventional chemistry utilizing the unique Allosperse Delivery System. The first product to come from this joint effort will be AZterknot FC, a fungicide for broad crop use marketed by Vive Crop Protection. It fuses the plant health benefits of two actives: Reynoutria extract, the active ingredient in biological market-leader Regalia, and the disease-fighting power of azoxystrobin, the active ingredient in AZteroid FC 3.3. AZterknot FC will also contain Vive's Allosperse Delivery System technology, which provides superior handling characteristics including compatibility with in-furrow, pop-up and foliar liquid fertilizers. Pending EPA registration approval, the product will be approved for foliar and in-furrow application on all major crops in the U.S. MBI will also market a version of the product to specialty crop growers when regulatory approval is granted. Regalia is one of the most used biologicals in the specialty crop market and the combination with azoxystrobin and the Allosperse technology will provide specialty crop growers with the convenience of a single product that delivers enhanced performance and improved yield in a highly compatible formulation. Regulatory approval for AZterknot FC is expected in mid-2021 and will be available through distributor and retail commercial channels in the U.S.

08:51 EDT ViacomCBS says Q2 was 'bottom' for the advertising market - Says has seen sequential improvement in ad sales since April. Says momentum in streaming services continues. Sees 18M streaming subscribers by year end. Expects sequential improvement in affiliate sales. Remains "excited" about film slate. Says "optimistic" on return of NFL. Says starting to produce TV shows in "small amounts." Raises cost synergies view to $300M from $250M. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

08:50 EDT Barfresh Food Group enters strategic relationship with Smart Beverage - Barfresh Food Group announced it has entered into a strategic distribution relationship with Smart Beverage. Smart Beverage will sell Barfresh's full line of products, to include Twist & Go, and Bulk-Easy Pour, as well as sell and distribute Barfresh's new range of WHIRLZ 100% juice Concentrates that are stored and delivered ambient to its existing and new customers. Barfresh's products will be sold directly to Smart Beverage, then delivered by Smart Beverage together with any beverage equipment. Smart Beverage currently has 1,000 frozen beverage machines in operation in over 800 schools throughout the mid-West including, Texas, Minnesota and Illinois and approximately another 600 customers it expects to install equipment and begin receiving Barfresh product once schools reopen and normal school operations resume. Barfresh products will be sold to approximately 1,400 schools as Smart Beverage replaces its previous frozen beverage offerings and adds new locations with Barfresh's leading suite of healthy beverages creating an immediate replacement opportunity utilizing Barfresh's superior products. The relationship is expected to deliver incremental growth to both Barfresh and Smart Beverage. It is initially expected to generate approximately $1.0 to $2 million on an annual basis in the current COVID-19 environment and $2 million to $3 million annually in a normal operating environment, excluding COVID-19.

08:46 EDT Biogen, Denali Therapeutics collaborate on LRRK2 program for Parkinson's Disease - Biogen Inc. (BIIB) and Denali Therapeutics Inc. (DNLI) announced that they have signed a binding agreement to co-develop and co-commercialize Denali's small molecule inhibitors of leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 for Parkinson's disease. Biogen will also receive rights to opt into two programs and a right of first negotiation for two additional programs, in each case for neurodegenerative diseases leveraging Denali's Transport Vehicle technology platform to cross the blood-brain barrier. Under the agreement, Biogen will collaborate with Denali to co-develop and co-commercialize Denali's small molecule inhibitors of LRRK2 for Parkinson's disease. Biogen and Denali will co-commercialize the LRRK2 product in the U.S. and China, and Biogen will commercialize in all other markets. DNL151 has been selected to progress into late stage clinical studies expected to commence in 2021. Mutations in the LRRK2 gene can cause Parkinson's disease. LRRK2 is a regulator of lysosomal function, which is impaired in Parkinson's disease and may contribute to neurodegeneration. Inhibition of LRRK2 activity may slow the progression of Parkinson's disease in patients with and without known genetic risks based on restoration of lysosomal function. People who have Parkinson's disease experience numerous symptoms, including tremors, slow movement, muscle stiffness and impaired balance. As these symptoms become progressively worse, patients have difficulty walking, talking or completing other simple tasks. Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease with significant unmet medical needs due to the absence of approved therapies that may slow disease progression. In addition to the LRRK2 program, Biogen will also receive an exclusive option to license two preclinical programs from Denali's TV platform, which aims to improve brain uptake of biotherapeutics, including its Antibody Transport Vehicle: Abeta program and a second program utilizing its TV technology. Further, Biogen will have right of first negotiation on two additional TV-enabled therapeutics, currently at a preclinical stage, should Denali decide to seek a collaboration for such programs. Denali's TV platform is a proprietary technology designed to effectively deliver large therapeutic molecules such as antibodies, enzymes, proteins and oligonucleotides across the BBB after intravenous administration. Under the terms of the agreement, Biogen will make an upfront payment to Denali of $560 million and make a $465 million equity investment in Denali from the purchase of 13.3 million newly issued shares of Denali common stock at approximately $34.94 per share, representing 11.2 percent of Denali's pro-forma outstanding stock. Should the LRRK2 program achieve certain development and commercial milestones, Denali will be eligible to receive up to $1.125 billion in potential milestone payments. In the LRRK2 collaboration, Biogen and Denali will share responsibility and costs for global development and will share responsibility and costs as well as profits and losses for commercialization in the U.S. and China. Outside the U.S. and China, Biogen will be responsible for commercialization and pay Denali tiered royalties. Closing of the collaboration is contingent on completion of review under antitrust laws, including the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 in the U.S., and other customary closing conditions.

08:43 EDT Aditx Therapeutics introduces AditxtScore for COVID-19 - Aditxt Therapeutics introduced AditxtScore for COVID-19 to be used in detecting antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 antigens, as validated in studies performed by Stanford Blood Center, headquartered in Palo Alto, California. AditxtScore for COVID-19 is a double-multiplex assay that can be used to detect and differentiate various antibody isotypes against multiple SARS-CoV-2 antigens simultaneously in a single reaction. Currently, one of the most widely used platforms, ELISA, can only detect one antibody isotype against one antigen at a time. AditxtScore for COVID-19 increases the resolution of results obtained for each antibody isotype thereby enhancing sensitivity for monitoring changes in these values over time. Due to the enhanced specificity and sensitivity of this comprehensive antibody profiling system, false positive and false negative results have proven to be significantly reduced when testing for the antibodies produced to SARS-CoV-2, thereby expanding its utility beyond a tool used in epidemiology. Therefore, and importantly, AditxtScore for COVID-19 can serve as a valuable tool to evaluate immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in clinical settings. Aditxt plans to file for an Emergency Use Authorization followed by a 510(K) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the end of the current quarter. Additionally, Aditxt is planning its operational capabilities in anticipation of beginning pilot programs utilizing AditxtScore for COVID-19 in Q4, 2020, with the goal of making AditxtScore commercially available starting in Q1, 2021.

08:39 EDT THRC's CareVention partners with Golden Valley Health Centers - Tabula Rasa HealthCare announced it has contracted with Golden Valley Health Centers to provide CareVention HealthCare PACE technology and services for Golden Valley's newest center and entree into the PACE market. Named Central Valley PACE, the new center is located in Modesto, California. It will begin enrolling participants September 1, 2020. The Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly is a federal program providing comprehensive medical and social services to individuals 55 and older who are nursing-home eligible. The goal of PACE is to keep participants living in their own communities and to provide quality comprehensive care. TRHC's CareVention HealthCare supports PACE organizations at all stages, from exploring PACE at the state and organizational levels, through start-up and ongoing operations.

08:36 EDT Gilat Satellite awarded multi-million dollar service contract - Gilat Satellite Networks announces the award by a Tier-1 Mobile Network Operator in the United States, of a multi-million-dollar service contract for cellular backhaul. The US Tier-1 MNO provides nationwide coverage with its LTE network that is extended with Gilat's cellular backhaul solution over satellite. Gilat's solution enables reach to remote areas and ensures high quality service and an excellent user experience. Gilat completed the LTE cellular backhaul satellite migration project according to schedule, during these challenging times imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

08:35 EDT MediciNova presents positive results of Phase 2 trial of MN-166 - MediciNova presented the results of the Ibudilast and Alcohol Use Disorder Phase 2 trial at the American Psychological Association 2020 Annual Convention. This study was a Phase 2 trial to evaluate the effect of 14 days of ibudilast treatment on heavy drinking days and alcohol neural cue reactivity, and to test if neural activation to alcohol cues, evaluated by functional magnetic resonance neuroimaging, is predictive of drinking outcomes. A total of 52 alcohol use disorder patients were enrolled in this trial. Ibudilast significantly reduced the number of heavy drinking days compared to placebo. There was a significant effect of ibudilast on alcoholic beverage images vs. non-alcoholic beverage images percent signal change in the bilateral ventral striatum evaluated by fMRI Ibudilast attenuated alcohol cue-elicited activation in the VS relative to placebo. Significant interaction between ibudilast and activation in the VS on subsequent drinking. Patients treated with ibudilast and had attenuated VS activation drank the least in the week after the scan.

08:34 EDT Pacific Coast Oil unable to regain compliance with NYSE, will trade OTC Pink - Pacific Coast Oil said in a release, "Pacific Coast Oil Trust received notification from the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") of its determination to suspend trading of the Trust's units of beneficial interest (the "Trust units"), effective as of the close of trading on August 5, 2020, and to initiate proceedings to delist the Trust units. The determination to commence the delisting proceeding results from the Trust's inability to satisfy the continued listing compliance standards set forth under Rule 802.01C of the NYSE Listed Company Manual because the average closing price of the Trust units fell below $1.00 over a 30 consecutive trading-day period that ended November 25, 2019, and the Trust was unable to regain compliance with the applicable standards within a cure period that concluded on August 5. As a result of the suspension, the Trust expects that the Trust units will begin trading on August 6, 2020 under the symbol "ROYTL" on the OTC Pink Market, which is operated by OTC Markets Group. To be quoted on OTC Pink, a market maker must sponsor the security and comply with SEC Rule 15c2-11 before it can initiate a quote in a specific security. OTC Pink is a significantly more limited market than the NYSE, and the quotation of the Trust units on OTC Pink may result in a less liquid market available for existing and potential unitholders and could further depress the trading price of the Trust units. There is no assurance that an active market in the Trust units will develop on OTC Pink."

08:30 EDT Avid Bioservices selected by Iovance to lead process development - Avid Bioservices, Inc. (CDMO) announced that Iovance Biotherapeutics (IOVA) has selected Avid to provide process development, pilot-batch manufacturing and CGMP manufacturing services to support development of IOV-3001, a novel antibody cytokine engrafted protein.Cell line development activities for IOV-3001 are currently being conducted by Aragen Bioscience under a subcontracting agreement with Avid. In parallel with cell line development, Avid will commence analytical activities, upstream and downstream process development, and pilot-scale non-GMP manufacturing for IOV-3001. Following completion of these activities, Avid will advance to CGMP manufacturing of IOV-3001 within Avid's state-of-the-art Myford facility in Tustin, CA.

08:28 EDT Safe Bulkers adopts shareholder rights plan - Safe Bulkers, announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously adopted a shareholders rights plan, as the previously existing rights plan had expired, following careful consideration of the uncertainties related to the long term impact on global trade and dry-bulk shipping of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic, the cyclicality of the dry-bulk shipping market, the need to promote the fair and equal treatment of all shareholders of the Company and to provide the Board and shareholders with adequate time to make informed decisions and ensure that the Board remains in the best position to discharge its fiduciary duties to the Company and its shareholders. The Board of Directors declared a dividend of one right for each outstanding share of Safe Bulkers common stock. The dividend is payable on August 20, 2020 to the shareholders of record on August 17, 2020. The rights will be traded with the shares of Safe Bulkers' common stock and will become exercisable for Safe Bulkers common stock only if a person or group acquires beneficial ownership of 10% or more of Safe Bulkers' common stock. The Rights Plan expires on August 5, 2030, and the Board of Directors may terminate the Rights Plan at any time if it no longer believes that the Rights Plan is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders.

08:25 EDT Oxford Lane sees NAV $3.25-$3.35 as of July 31 - Management's unaudited estimate of the range of our NAV per share of our common stock as of July 31, 2020 is between $3.25 and $3.35. This estimate is not a comprehensive statement of our financial condition or results for the month ended July 31, 2020. This estimate did not undergo the Company's typical quarter-end financial closing procedures and was not approved by the Company's board of directors. We advise you that our NAV per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2020 may differ materially from this estimate, which is given only as of July 31, 2020.

08:25 EDT Dick's Sporting to open 11 stores in 9 states in August - DICK'S Sporting Goods will expand its nationwide footprint with the opening of four DICK'S Sporting Goods stores, one combination DICK'S and Golf Galaxy location, five DICK'S Sporting Goods Warehouse Sale stores and one OVERTIME by DICK'S Sporting Goods location in August. These new stores will bring approximately 300 collective jobs to communities through the hiring of full-time, part-time and temporary associates for the stores.

08:23 EDT Aethlon Medical forms collaboration with University of Pittsburgh - Aethlon Medical announced that the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research, a unit of the National Institutes for Health, has awarded a grant for studies in head and neck cancer that will be a collaborative project between Aethlon and the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center at the University of Pittsburgh. The total value of the award is $3.5M over five years for multi-institution studies that will be led by Drs. Theresa Whiteside at UPMC and Annette Marleau at Aethlon as Principal Investigators. The funds will be primarily allocated to UPMC and two other participating academic institutions that will apply their expertise in immuno-oncology to programs that could accelerate the clinical advancement of the Hemopurifier.

08:22 EDT Sierra Oncology names Kevin Norrett as Chief Business Officer - Sierra Oncology announced the appointments of Kevin Norrett as Chief Business Officer and William Turner as Chief Regulatory and Technical Operations Officer. Most recently, Kevin was Chief Commercial Officer at Angion Biomedica, a clinical stage company with a focus in acute organ injury and fibrosis. Turner was Senior Vice President of Technical Operations and Regulatory Science at Aimmune Therapeutics for several years.

08:22 EDT Denali Therapeutics decides to advance DNL151 into late stage clinical studies - Denali Therapeutics (DNLI) announced that DNL151 has been selected to progress into late stage studies in Parkinson's disease patients with a kinase activating mutation in LRRK2 and in sporadic Parkinson's disease patients. LRRK2 is a regulator of lysosomal function, which is impaired in Parkinson's disease and may be restored by LRRK2 inhibition. Inhibition of LRRK2 activity may slow the progression of Parkinson's disease in patients with and without known genetic risks based on restoration of lysosomal function. Mutations in the LRRK2 gene can cause Parkinson's disease and are a major driver of lysosomal dysfunction, which contributes to neurodegeneration. DNL151 has completed dosing of 162 healthy volunteers in an ongoing Phase 1 clinical study and 25 Parkinson's patients in a Phase 1b clinical study. Denali is currently completing further dose escalation cohorts in an expanded Phase 1 and an additional cohort in the Phase 1b study to define the full therapeutic window of the molecule. Based on the clinical data to date that have been generated in Europe, DNL151 appears to have an acceptable safety and tolerability profile, and has met desired target engagement goals. An Investigational New Drug application for DNL151 was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July 2020 and enables expansion of our clinical studies for DNL151 globally. Based on the totality of preclinical and clinical data to date, both DNL201 and DNL151 have met Denali's requirements to proceed into further late stage clinical studies. However, Denali has selected DNL151 due to pharmacokinetic properties that provide additional dosing regimen flexibility. Denali and Biogen (BIIB) are working to finalize the clinical development plans for the LRRK2 program and intend to commence two separate Parkinson's disease studies, one in patients with a kinase activating mutation in LRRK2 and the other in patients with sporadic disease. Patient enrollment is expected to commence in 2021.

08:20 EDT Equinix becomes Google Cloud Premier Partner - Equinix (EQIX) announced it has become a Google (GOOG, GOOGL) Cloud Premier Partner. The partnership enables enterprises to more easily connect and migrate priority workloads to Google Cloud.

08:19 EDT Arcadia Biosciences announces collaboration with Corner Foods - Arcadia Biosciences announced the execution of a term sheet to collaborate with Corner Foods, an affiliate of Corner Capital Group, designed to bring its GoodWheat portfolio of specialty wheat ingredients to China and Israel. Arcadia's GoodWheat was developed to offer unique health and nutritional benefits, such as higher fiber, improved protein quality and reduced allergenic gluten. Consumer preferences strongly align with these benefits. GoodWheat ingredients reimagine the health benefits around traditional bakery items, pasta and other wheat-based food products as well as offer alternative starch solutions to the pharmaceutical industry. Through Corner Foods, Arcadia's GoodWheat ingredient-based food products will be introduced directly to consumers in China via popular e-commerce site TMall and cooking and lifestyle network Tastemade China. Together, these digital platforms reach an estimated eight million consumers in China per month.

08:16 EDT MeiraGTx expects cash to fund operating requirements into 2022 - As of June 30, 2020, MeiraGTx had cash and cash equivalents of $194.8 million. In addition, the Company expects approximately $24.4 million in receivables from development partner Janssen in the next 90 days. MeiraGTx believes this capital will be sufficient to fund operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into 2022.

08:09 EDT PowerFleet terminates at-the-market equity offering program - The company has elected to terminate its "at-the-market" equity offering program. The company initiated the 10-day termination process of the ATM Facility with Canaccord Genuity on August 4, 2020, with the official termination to take effect August 14, 2020. The company will make no further sales of shares under the ATM Facility. Upon the announcement of the initiation of the ATM Facility's termination process, the company had sold 809,846 shares raising approximately $4.2M in gross proceeds. The company currently expects to use the proceeds from the ATM Facility to pay down high interest-rate debt.

08:07 EDT J.Jill further extends forbearance period to complete negotiations - J.Jill announced that the company and its lenders have further amended the company's existing forbearance agreements, dated as of June 15 to extend the forbearance period, providing additional time for J.Jill and its lenders to complete negotiations. The forbearance period has been extended until August 13. Under the amendments to the existing forbearance agreements, the respective lenders have agreed not to exercise any rights and remedies until August 13 so long as, among other things, the company otherwise remains in compliance with its credit facilities and complies with the terms of the forbearance agreements.

08:05 EDT RedHill Biopharma Phase 2/3 COVID-19 study approved in Mexico - RedHill Biopharma announced approval from the Mexican Federal Committee for the Protection against Sanitary Risks for the Company's Clinical Trial Authorization application for the Phase 2/3 study evaluating opaganib in patients hospitalized with severe SARS-CoV-2 infection and pneumonia. RedHill's study has now been approved in Mexico, the UK, and Russia and is under review in Italy, Brazil and additional countries. Further expansion of the study to other countries is planned. The multi-center, randomized, double-blind, parallel-arm, placebo-controlled Phase 2/3 study is set to enroll up to 270 patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia requiring hospitalization and treatment with supplemental oxygen. Subjects will be randomized at a 1:1 ratio to receive either opaganib or placebo, along with standard-of-care therapy. The primary endpoint of the study is to evaluate the proportion of patients requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation by Day 14. An unblinded futility interim analysis will be conducted by an independent data safety monitoring board when approximately 100 subjects have been evaluated for the primary endpoint. In parallel, enrollment in the U.S. Phase 2 clinical study with opaganib is approximately 50% complete and is expected to be completed this month. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, which is not powered for statistical significance, is set to enroll up to 40 patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia requiring hospitalization and supplemental oxygen.

08:03 EDT Baudax Bio secures permanent J-Code for ANJESO - Baudax Bio announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services established a new permanent J-code for ANJESO injection facilitating reimbursement in the hospital outpatient, ambulatory surgery center and physician office settings of care. The code, J1738, published online on the CMS website at https://www.cms.gov/files/document/2020-hcpcs-application-summary-quarter-2-2020-drugs-and-biologicals-updated-07312020.pdf will take effect on October 1, 2020 and it is expected to replace the previously issued C-code. J codes are routine reimbursement codes assigned to outpatient and physician administered "buy and bill" products under Medicare Part B. With the J-code taking effect in October, all hospital outpatient departments, ambulatory surgery centers and physician offices in the United States will have one consistent Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System code to standardize the submission and payment of ANJESO insurance claims across Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and commercial plans. CMS announced the new J-code for ANJESO in July, allowing time for Medicare Administrative Contractors as well as Medicare Advantage plans and commercial payers to program the new code into their systems in advance of the October 1, 2020 effective date.

07:59 EDT Alnylam chief commercial officer Barry Greene to retire - Alnylam announced that after 17 years, Barry Greene, president, has decided to leave the company at the end of Q3 to pursue outside interests in the biopharmaceutical industry. Greene will remain a consultant to the company for up to two years to ensure an orderly transition, while the search for a new chief commercial officer is underway. In addition, Yvonne Greenstreet, who currently serves as COO, has been named president and COO effective October 1.

07:56 EDT Plug Power sees Q3 gross billings $110M-$115M

07:49 EDT Albireo Pharma expects cash balance to be sufficient into 2022 - Company had cash and cash equivalents at June 30, 2020 of $152.0 million. During the second quarter of 2020, an additional $24.3 million of net cash was received from recently completed non-dilutive financings. As a result, cash and cash equivalents are anticipated to be sufficient into the beginning of 2022.

07:46 EDT Selecta Biosciences expects cash to meet operating requirements into 1Q23 - Selecta had $61.4 million in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash as of June 30, 2020, which compares to cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash of $91.6 million as of December 31, 2019. Selecta believes its available cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash as of June 30, 2020, together with the $25 million payment received from Sobi under the Sobi Private Placement in July and the expected payment from Sobi of $75 million under the Sobi License, which is due 45 days after the effective date, will enable Selecta to fund operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the first quarter of 2023.

07:42 EDT Intellia Therapeutics expects cash to fund expenses through next 24 months - Intellia expects that its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of June 30, 2020 will enable the Company to fund its anticipated operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements at least through the next 24 months. This expectation excludes any strategic use of capital not currently in the Company's base-case planning assumptions.

07:37 EDT Cheniere Energy confirms FY20 adjusted EBITDA view $3.8B-$4.1B - The company said: "Our customers value the flexibilities our long-term contracts provide, which enable LNG buyers to effectively manage their portfolios through various market conditions, while continuing to underpin Cheniere's financial stability. Despite continued market challenges, our visibility on achieving our financial goals for the year is unchanged, and today we are reconfirming our full year 2020 guidance of $3.8 to $4.1 billion in Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and $1.0 to $1.3 billion in Distributable Cash Flow."

07:36 EDT Sol-Gel Technologies expects cash to fund operations into 3Q21 - As of June 30, 2020, Sol-Gel had $25.3 million in cash, cash equivalents and deposits and $40.7 million in marketable securities for a total balance of $66.0 million. Based on current assumptions, Sol-Gel expects its existing cash resources will enable funding of operational and capital expenditure requirements into the third quarter of 2021.

07:34 EDT Corbus Pharmaceuticals expects cash to fund operations into 3Q21 - Corbus expects its cash and cash equivalents on hand of approximately $101 million at July 28, 2020 to fund operations into the third quarter of 2021.

07:31 EDT Stericycle completes sale of Argentina operations - Stericycle also announced that it completed the sale of its operations in Argentina on August 3, 2020 for cash proceeds of approximately $3.9 million, marking the seventh divestiture executed by Stericycle in the last 18 months. The Company expects to incur a non-cash pre-tax loss of approximately $115 million in the third quarter, primarily attributed to the reclassification of accumulated currency translation adjustments to earnings.

07:28 EDT BioCryst sees FY20 net operating cash use $150M-$165M - With the additional capital raised in Q2 and the safety and proof-of concept data generated to-date with BCX9930 in PNH patients, the company is investing in accelerated development of BCX9930 and expects full year 2020 net operating cash use to be in the range of $150 to $165 million, and its operating expenses to be in the range of $180 to $195 million. The company's operating expense range excludes equity-based compensation expense due to the difficulty in reliably projecting this expense, as it is impacted by the volatility and price of the company's stock, as well as by the vesting of the company's outstanding performance-based stock options.

07:26 EDT Menlo expects cash to be sufficient through at least the next 12 months - As of June 30, 2020, Menlo had cash, cash equivalents and investments of $100.4 million. We believe that our cash and cash equivalents and investments, projected cash flows from revenues and the funds that we are entitled to receive under our license agreement with Cutia, will provide sufficient resources for our current ongoing needs through at least the next twelve months, though there may be need for additional financing activity if the on-going COVID-19 pandemic continues for an extended duration and as we continue to grow. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our capital resources sooner than we currently expect.

07:23 EDT Bristol-Myers reports district court upheld Eliquis patents - In August, the Bristol-Myers Squibb-Pfizer Alliance announced the U.S. District Court decision to uphold both the composition of matter patent, US 6,967,208, and formulation patent, US 9,326,945, covering Eliquis, Bristol noted along with its earnings report.

07:19 EDT MediWound sees 2020 cash use $8M-$10M - MediWound has implemented several measures to safeguard the health and well-being of its employees, their families, and healthcare providers. The Company has reduced expenses to minimize impact to operations while ensuring full compliance with all necessary regulations. Management continues to assess the impact of the pandemic, the potential implications to business continuity, and necessary remedies and will adjust accordingly to the challenges created by any directives from regulatory authorities. The Company continues to manufacture and supply NexoBrid to patients with severe burn injuries, including manufacturing NexoBrid and building an emergency stockpile for the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, while the first delivery to BARDA is planned in the third quarter of 2020. The Company maintains a significant safety stock of all key raw materials and NexoBrid inventory to meet expected demand over the next several quarters. At this time, the Company does not expect any disruptions to its manufacturing operations and global supply chain. The Company submitted a BLA to the U.S. FDA seeking the approval of NexoBrid for eschar removal (debridement) in adults with deep partial-thickness and full-thickness thermal burns. The BLA submission is based on multiple preclinical and clinical studies including the pivotal Phase 3 U.S. clinical study of NexoBrid in adult patients with severe thermal burns. Vericel Corporation (VCEL) holds an exclusive license for North American commercial rights of NexoBrid. MediWound is eligible to receive a $7.5 million milestone payment from Vericel upon BLA approval. On the clinical front, the Company has resumed new patients' screening and randomization in its U.S. EscharEx phase 2 adaptive design study for the treatment of VLU's and expects to achieve the pre-defined interim assessment in the first half of 2021. In addition, enrollment in the NexoBrid expanded access program continues with enhanced safety measures, such as remote visits and virtual tools. The Company had $24.4 million in cash and short-term investments as of June 30, 2020, compared with $29.5 million as of December 31, 2019, with no debt. The Company reiterates its expectations of cash use for operating activities in 2020 to be in the range of $8 to $10 million. At this time, the Company cannot predict the extent or duration of the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on its ongoing financial and operational results.

07:15 EDT ViacomCBS reports Q2 domestic streaming, digital video revenue up 25% to $489M - ViacomCBS said in its Q2 earnings release, "Affiliate revenue increased 2%, reflecting growth in station affiliation and retransmission fees, as well as subscription streaming revenue, which more than offset declines in pay-TV subscribers. Advertising revenue declined 27% year-over-year, driven by the adverse effects of COVID-19 on global advertising demand, the comparison against the broadcast of the national semifinals and championship games of the NCAA Tournament in the prior-year quarter, as well as the cancellation and postponement of professional golf tournaments. Domestic streaming and digital video revenue - which includes streaming subscription and digital video advertising revenue - rose to $489M, up 25% year-over-year, driven by 52% growth in streaming subscription revenue and robust growth in Pluto TV advertising revenue. Content licensing revenue was relatively flat, primarily reflecting the licensing of domestic streaming rights to South Park, offset by significant licensing activity in the year ago quarter, as well as the timing of deliveries, which were affected by COVID-related production delays. Theatrical revenue was immaterial in the quarter due to the closure of movie theaters in response to COVID-19. Publishing revenue decreased 8%, mainly driven by lower print book sales as a result of the impact of COVID-19, partially offset by growth in sales of electronic and digital audiobooks."

07:14 EDT Norwegian says booked position, pricing for 2021 'within historical ranges' - Norwegian Cruise Line said: "Along with the broader travel and leisure industry, the company has experienced swift and significant impacts related to the COVID-19 global pandemic which have resulted in voyage suspensions through October 31, 2020. While booking volumes since the emergence of COVID-19 remain below historical levels, the company's overall cumulative booked position and pricing for 2021 are within historical ranges including bookings made with future cruise credits. All three brands have instituted programs for guests on cancelled sailings as a result of the company's voyage suspension which include offering value-add future cruise credits typically for 125% of the cruise fare paid in lieu of providing cash refunds. These future cruise credits are valid for any sailing through December 31, 2022. As of August 3, 2020, approximately 60% of the guests who have had their voyages cancelled have requested cash refunds. As of June 30, 2020, the company had $1.2 billion of advanced ticket sales, including the long-term portion, which includes approximately $0.8 billion of future cruise credits. The company continues to take future bookings and receive new customer deposits and final payments on these bookings. To provide additional flexibility to its guests, the company has also introduced a new final payment schedule for all 2020 voyages which requires final payment 60 days prior to embarkation versus the standard 120 days."

07:14 EDT Autolus Therapeutics announces key upcoming milestones - Key Upcoming Clinical Milestones: Further update for AUTO3 at ESMO in Q3 2020. Further data updates for both AUTO1 and AUTO3 in Q4 2020. First data from outpatient cohort in the AUTO3 ALEXANDER study in H2 2020. Interim Phase 1 data for AUTO4 in T cell lymphoma in H1 2021. Initiation of Phase 1 study for AUTO1NG in pediatric ALL in H2 2020. Initiation of Phase 1 study for AUTO8 in multiple myeloma in H2 2020. Progression of additional next generation programs from preclinical stages to Phase 1 throughout 2021. Expansion of the company's suite of cell programming technologies to include additional modules designed for allogeneic applications, with the first novel allogeneic program expected to enter the clinic in Q4 2020.

07:13 EDT Dicerna sees sufficient cash to fund operating plan into 2023 - Dicerna believes that its cash, cash equivalents and held-to-maturity investments will be sufficient to fund the execution of its current clinical and operating plan into 2023, which includes its expectations to advance nedosiran through pivotal development, regulatory filing and potential commercial launch; completing the proof-of-concept study of RG6346 in participants with HBV infection; conducting nonclinical studies of ALN-AAT02 and advancing either ALN-AAT02 or DCR-A1AT through Phase 1/2; and initiating and conducting research and development programs with our collaborative partners. This estimate assumes no new funding from additional collaboration agreements or from external financing events and no significant unanticipated changes in costs and expenses. Dicerna expects its overall expenses to continue to increase significantly for the foreseeable future, primarily as the company continues clinical manufacturing activities, advances preclinical toxicology studies, continues clinical activities associated with its lead product candidates, prepares for commercialization of nedosiran and initiates or increases activities under the agreements with Novo Nordisk A/S, Roche, Eli Lilly, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

07:07 EDT Bausch Health soars 27% pre-market on plans to spin off eye health unit

07:03 EDT Bausch Health to spin off eye health business into publicly traded company - Bausch Health Companies announced that it intends to spin off its eye health business into an independent publicly traded entity from the remainder of Bausch Health. The company said: "The spinoff will establish two separate companies that include: A fully integrated, pure play eye-health company built on the iconic Bausch + Lomb brand and long history of innovation; and A diversified pharmaceutical company with leading positions in gastroenterology, aesthetics/dermatology, neurology and international pharmaceuticals. The benefits of separating these attractive, but disparate businesses include improved strategic focus and enhanced financial transparency to better enable stakeholders to value each business independently." The timing of the anticipated spinoff will be tied to certain conditions and approvals, and the Company's completion of several important actions, including the reorganization of the reporting segments, which we expect to begin reporting in the first quarter of 2021. "We are committed to taking action to unlock what we see as unrecognized value in Bausch Health shares, and we believe that separating our business into two highly focused, stand-alone companies is the way to accomplish that goal," said Joseph C. Papa, chairman and CEO of Bausch Health. "Four years ago, we initiated a multi-phase plan, first to stabilize and then to transform Bausch Health into a company positioned to deliver long-term organic growth. We have divested approximately $4 billion of non-core assets, paid down over $8 billion of debt, resolved numerous legacy legal issues and managed a loss of exclusivity on an approximately $1.4 billion product portfolio, while also investing in R&D, new product launches and core franchises with attractive growth opportunities. Our Board of Directors and management team have been working on alternatives over the last 12 months to determine how to best unlock value across our businesses, and we believe that the time is right to begin the separation process, so each business has greater flexibility to pursue strategic opportunities in their respective markets."

07:02 EDT Bausch Health to spin off eye health business into publicly traded company

07:00 EDT Party City expects to close 21 stores and open 4 - During the remainder of 2020, Party CIty plans to close approximately 21 stores, open 4 new stores, with approximately 6 new store openings planned to shift into 2021. In 2020, the company continues to plan to invest approximately $35M-$40M dollars in capital expenditures, with approximately one third invested in its retail segment, and the balance invested in its manufacturing and distribution capabilities. Full year 2020 depreciation & amortization is expected to be approximately $77M.

06:57 EDT Targa Resources sees 2020 adjusted EBITDA $1.5B-$1.63B

06:54 EDT Kontoor Brands reports Q2 reported gross margin down 10 bps to 38.5% - Adjusted gross margin declined 160 bps to 38.4%. Q2 inventory declined $105M, or 20%, compared with the prior year.

06:50 EDT Nintendo sold 5.7M Switch consoles in Q1 vs. 2.1M a year ago

06:45 EDT Restaurant Brands renews $300M NCIB - Restaurant Brands said in a release, "Restaurant Brands has filed, and the Toronto Stock Exchange has accepted, notice of RBI's intention to renew its normal course issuer bid for its common shares. The NCIB is being conducted in furtherance of RBI's current share repurchase authorization by the board of RBI in August 2016, pursuant to which RBI may purchase up to $300 million of its Common Shares over the next year."

06:42 EDT GrafTech expects demand to 'remain low for the remainder of 2020' - GrafTech said, "The second half of 2020 will continue to be challenging as we and our customers face macro-economic headwinds. We foresee a measured recovery in the industry when the pandemic eases as customers work through inventory levels that were elevated prior to the onset of the pandemic. We expect overall demand and pricing to remain low for the remainder of 2020. We have full confidence in the strengths of the Electric Arc Furnace and graphite electrode businesses. The environmental and economic attributes of these industries are key advantages and position them for continued growth over the longer term. We believe GrafTech is well positioned to navigate the challenges of the current environment and the opportunities in the future recovery given our leadership position in the industry, our strong cash flows, and our advantaged cost position."

06:39 EDT Restaurant Brands reports Q2 PLK segment SSS up 24.8% - Restaurant Brands said in its Q2 earnings release, "For the second quarter of 2020, system-wide sales growth was driven by comparable sales growth of 24.8%, including US comparable sales growth of 28.5%, as well as net restaurant growth of 6.7%, partially offset by the temporary closure of certain restaurants related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The year-over-year change in Total Revenues on a GAAP and on an organic basis was primarily driven by system-wide sales growth. The year-over-year change in Adjusted EBITDA on a GAAP and on an organic basis was primarily driven by system-wide sales growth. Our results at Popeyes in the US improved over the course of the quarter relative to results during the onset of the global pandemic in March. During the last two weeks of March, comparable sales were approximately flat on a year-over-year basis. As of the end of July, comparable sales performance had improved to the positive high-twenties on a percentage basis."

06:35 EDT Papa John's sees July Systemwide North America restaurants SSS up 30.3% - Sees July System-wide international restaurants SSS up 13.9%.

06:33 EDT National Vision sees FY20 CapEx $65M-$75M - Sees incremental COVID-19 expenses $8M.

06:13 EDT Bio-Techne, NanoString expand partnership to offer RNAscope reagents with GeoMx - Bio-Techne (TECH) and NanoString (NSTG) announced an expansion of their partnership to include compatibility with ACD's 21,000+ RNAscope probes and 10 qualified RNAscope probe combinations with GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler, or DSP, and the recently launched GeoMx Cancer Transcriptome Atlas, or CTA. A combined workflow has been previously developed that unites the RNAscope reagent portfolio from Bio-Techne with NanoString's GeoMx RNA Assays to enable researchers to visualize RNA in tissue at the single molecule level to molecularly guide their high-plex spatial analyses on GeoMx DSP. Users can select any RNAscope probe to visualize their FFPE or fresh frozen tissue morphology as an alternative to antibody-based visualization. The full tissue image generated by RNAscope probes is used as a region of interest, or ROI, selection on GeoMx DSP for high-plex profiling. Ten new two- or three-plex qualified RNAscope probe combinations take this workflow one step further, providing pre-qualified RNAscope reagents for use in the joint workflow to ensure cross assay compatibility. Selected combinations cover applications in immuno-oncology, including targets difficult to detect with traditional antibodies, such as chemokines, cytokines, immune checkpoints and key immune cell types. Users can select from the 10 qualified combinations plus any user-defined probe from the broader RNAscope catalogue to guide selection of ROI followed by profiling of tissue with the CTA. The Cancer Transcriptome Atlas provides quantification of more than 1,800 genes covering 100 pathways critical to understanding tumor biology, immune response and the tumor microenvironment providing a complete spatial view of cancer biology. RNAscope can then be used downstream of GeoMx DSP analysis to confirm findings. The combination of RNAscope's sensitivity, whole slide coverage, and single cell resolution with the multiplex gene coverage of the GeoMx Cancer Transcriptome Atlas delivers an assay that enables spatial quantitation.

06:09 EDT Gray Television expects to be 'free cash flow positive' for 2020 - Gray said, "Government and private measures adopted to limit the spread of COVID-19 have affected, and are continuing to affect, our businesses in a number of ways. Although there has recently been a gradual decline in certain government and private measures adopted to limit the spread of COVID-19, we have generally experienced a reduction in demand for advertising across our television stations and digital platforms, a very significant reduction in demand in the market for the video production of sporting and other events by our production companies, and reductions in the supply of programming, especially sports content, provided by television networks. The extent to which some of the effects of the COVID-19 crisis continues to impact our business depends on numerous evolving factors; we believe, however, that some of our programming and production activities are beginning to rebound. Despite the adverse developments, we have experienced significant increases in viewership of our local newscasts and related digital assets. We did not access any stimulus or relief grants or loans from any governmental unit during the first half of 2020. The net impact of these factors has had an adverse effect on our financial and operational results during the past four months. The ultimate duration and impact of these disruptions cannot be predicted at this time. In light of this uncertainty, the Company cannot provide guidance for the three-month period ending on September 30, 2020, or calendar year 2020. Notwithstanding the foregoing, however, we continue to anticipate that in calendar year 2020, our political advertising revenue will be between $250 million to $275 million and the company will remain free cash flow positive."

06:07 EDT Hilton says 96% of system-wide hotels open as of July 31

06:01 EDT Hilton reports Q2 system-wide comparable RevPAR decreased 81% - System-wide comparable RevPAR decreased 81% on a currency neutral basis for the second quarter from the same period in 2019.

05:48 EDT Cellcom Israel announces purported class action filed against the company - Cellcom Israel said in a release, "Cellcom Israel announced that a purported class action was filed against the Company, alleging that the Company misled its customers by failing to disclose certain information in relation to a certain service. The amount claimed from the Company, if the lawsuit is certified as a class action, was estimated by the plaintiff to be approximately NIS 179 million. At this preliminary stage, the Company is unable to assess the lawsuit's chances of success."

05:18 EDT Pretium Resources says '2020 production guidance remains achievable' - Pretium Resources said in its Q2 earnings release, "The Company produced 173,307 ounces of gold during the first half of 2020 and expects to meet 2020 gold production guidance at the Brucejack Mine of 325,000 ounces to 365,000 ounces. Production is planned to continue for the remainder of 2020 at an average rate of approximately 3,500 tonnes per day due to planned shutdowns and an increased focus on waste management from accelerated lateral development. The average annual gold grade is expected to remain in the guidance range between 7.6 grams per tonne and 8.5 grams per tonne at an average gold recovery of 97%. Management believes 2020 production guidance remains achievable assuming there is no new significant impact on operations at the Brucejack Mine, including due to the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19") pandemic. We have taken precautions to mitigate the risk of COVID-19. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and any future emergence and spread of similar pathogens could have a material adverse impact on our business, operations and operating results, financial condition, liquidity and market for our securities."