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

21:01 EDT Pintec Technology announces risk management partnership with ICBC - Pintec Technology announced an update on its cooperation with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. ICBC has adopted and implemented Pintec's SME risk management solutions for its micro- and small-sized lending business, "enhancing the effectiveness of its lending services for SME clients", the company states.

19:53 EDT Evolus discloses notice of initial determination in Allegan case - Evolus announced that the Administrative Law Judge, or ALJ, overseeing the United States International Trade Commission case filed by Allergan and Medytox in January 2019 against Daewoong and Evolus released a Notice of Initial Determination. This non-binding initial decision by the ALJ finds a violation of Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. The company states: Among the grounds on which Evolus will seek review is that this investigation represents an improper attempt to use the USITC as a means to litigate a dispute between two Korean competitors that is completely disconnected from the United States. The trade secrets asserted by Allergan and its Korean partner Medytox have never been used in the United States. The intellectual property jurisdiction of the USITC was created to protect domestic industries from improper foreign competition. Evolus will petition the full Commission to review this questionable legal maneuvering which would improperly increase the jurisdiction of the USITC beyond the Commission's mandate."

18:49 EDT LGI Homes reports 2,005 home closings in Q2 - LGI Homes announced 760 home closings in June 2020, up from 651 home closings in June 2019, representing year-over-year growth of 16.7%. In addition, the company announced record-breaking quarterly home closings of 2,005 during the second quarter of 2020 compared to 1,944 home closings in the second quarter of 2019, a 3.1% increase year-over-year. The company finished the first six months of 2020 with a total of 3,840 home closings, a 21.1% increase over 3,172 home closings during the first six months of 2019. During the month of June, the company closed its 40,000th home since commencing homebuilding operations in 2003. Eric Lipar, the company's Chief Executive Officer, noted, "Fulfilling our customers' dreams of homeownership has always been our primary motivation. June is designated as National Homeownership Month and I can think of no better way to celebrate this initiative than to announce that we closed our 40,000th home during the month of June. This is another great milestone for LGI Homes. I want to congratulate all of our employees and thank them for their dedication to making homeownership a reality for more than 40,000 families across the nation."

18:21 EDT Norbord says North American mills produced at 74% of capacity in Q2 - The company states: "Norbord announced an update regarding the second quarter 2020 capacity utilization of its North American oriented strand board and European panel mills. On March 25, in response to the significant market uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic, Norbord announced adjustments to its operating configuration to match production with reduced demand for its products. On May 6, as part of its first quarter 2020 results, Norbord announced that it had reduced its operating mill capacity by approximately 35% for the month of April, but that there were early signs of improvement across various end markets for the Company's products. During the balance of the second quarter, market demand improved sufficiently to allow the company to substantially resume production across its North American and European mills. As a result, in Q20, Norbord's North American mills produced at approximately 74% of available capacity, down from 79% in Q1 of 2020, and its European mills produced at approximately 70% of stated capacity, down from 93% in the first quarter of 2020. The company's UK operations were significantly impacted by the government-mandated lockdown of key UK customers during the first half of the second quarter. Given the uncertainty around the depth and duration of the economic impact of COVID-19, the company will continue to use the flexible operating strategy employed during the early stage of the pandemic to adjust operating schedules as necessary."

17:42 EDT RBC seeks to increase percentage of BIPOC executives to 30% from 20% - The Royal Bank of Canda announced a new set of "direct actions to tackle issues of inequity and systemic bias." "Alongside our existing commitments to Indigenous communities, we're committing C$100M over five years in small business loans to Black entrepreneurs," the bank said. "As part of that commitment, we'll also establish a program to bring business, marketing, digital experts and community leaders together to share ideas and best practices to advance growth for Black owned businesses." The lender added that it is committing to invest C$50M from now up to 2025 through RBC Future Launch to create meaningful and transformative pathways to prosperity for 25,000 BIPOC youth with investments in areas such as skills development and mentoring. "We're increasing our staffing goals for BIPOC executives from 20% to 30% with a focus on increasing Black and Indigenous representation to accelerate the diversity of our leadership pipeline for senior executive roles," RBC added. "We will also double our investment in Ignite, a leadership program focused on driving the development of BIPOC talent, to complement other experience-based development opportunities. To ensure these commitments are realized, we're including diversity and inclusion objectives in the performance management goals of all people leaders, and will further expand our annual diversity reporting beginning in 2021 to drive even more transparency on our BIPOC efforts, including enhancing our pay equity reporting to encompass racial and ethnic pay equity analysis." Reference Link

17:18 EDT Raytheon Technologies awarded $6B Defense Logistics Agency contract modification - Raytheon has been awarded a $6B modification to a six-year base contract with one four-year option period, to add an additional year of performance and increase funding for depot-level repairables and consumable spare parts, as well as repair and engineering services for multiple weapon systems. This modification increases the contract ceiling from $2B-$8B. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304, as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with both fixed-price and cost elements. Location of performance is Massachusetts, with a September 27, 2021, ordering period end date. Using customer is the Department of Defense. Type of appropriation is FY20 through FY21 Army working capital funds and other procurement funds as necessary. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency.

17:07 EDT Air Transport Services deploys 767 freighters to support DHL network - Air Transport Services (ATSG) announced that it deployed a Boeing (BA) 767-300 converted freighter in June in support of the DHL Express network in Asia under the terms of a stand-alone ACMI agreement with DHL-Bahrain. This agreement is to provide capacity support for general express freight and delivery of COVID-19 related relief supplies to Sydney, Australia. ATSG subsidiary Air Transport International is operating the flights from Hong Kong to Sydney via Guam. An additional Boeing 767 has been deployed under a separate ACMI agreement between DHL Express and ATSG to serve routes from Chicago O'Hare Airport to Cologne Bonn Airport via East Midlands Airport. ATSG subsidiary ABX Air is operating this route to provide DHL additional capacity to meet the high level of service expected within its network. The freighters are leased from ATSG subsidiary Cargo Aircraft Management and bring ATSG's support of DHL's network to sixteen Boeing 767 aircraft.

17:06 EDT Town Sports uses 'substantial doubt' language in 'going concern' prospects - In a regulatory filing, the company said: "Since March 16, Town Sports International Holdings has been required to close nearly all of its clubs in order to maintain social distancing and align with the Federal guidance on minimizing the impact of COVID-19. Due to this and other factors, the company has determined as of July 6, that it will be required to recognize a material impairment of the carrying values of the company's right of use assets, fixed assets and other long term assets including goodwill, which the company expects to be in the range of $135M to $155M in the aggregate. The company is unable to timely file its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31 due to disruptions resulting from the unprecedented interruption in its business caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company had availed itself of a valid extension of the original deadline to file the Report which rendered the report due on June 29. The company also filed a Notification of Late Filing on Form 12b-25 which would allow the company until July 6 to timely file the Report. However, despite substantial effort by the Company and its representatives to complete the Report, the Report is not complete and will not be timely filed. The company cannot reasonably estimate the severity of COVID-19 or the duration of the related orders that have closed its locations and directed the public to stay at home, but it currently anticipates a material adverse impact on its financial position, results of operations and cash flows during fiscal 2020. As such, the company's revenues, results of operations and cash flows have been materially adversely impacted, which raises substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern."

17:01 EDT PG&E names Sumeet Singh chief risk officer, Stephen Cairns chief audit officer - PG&E Corporation and Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced changes to the risk and safety leadership structure to further strengthen the utility's enterprise-wide risk mitigation and operational safety capabilities. PG&E currently has a Vice President of Internal Audit and Chief Risk Officer whose duties include enterprise risk, internal audit, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, market and credit risk management, third party risk management, loss control and insurance. Going forward, those responsibilities will be split between two senior leaders, a Chief Risk Officer and a Chief Audit Officer. Additionally, PG&E is elevating the current position of Chief Safety Officer to a Senior Vice President role. Sumeet Singh, who previously led PG&E's wildfire safety efforts through 2019, is returning to PG&E and has been appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Risk Officer, effective August 1, 2020. In this CRO capacity, he will report directly to PG&E Corporation's Interim Chief Executive Officer Bill Smith. As Chief Risk Officer, Singh will have oversight over all risk management related to PG&E's operations and public safety. This includes risks associated with wildfires, nuclear, dams, natural gas and natural disasters, as well as other strategic risks confronting utilities, including those relating to cyber-attacks, pandemic and other catastrophic events. Singh will also be responsible for evaluating risks associated with the Public Safety Power Shutoff program. Stephen Cairns, who currently serves as PG&E's Vice President of Internal Audit and Chief Risk Officer, will transition to the new role of Chief Audit Officer, effective August 1, 2020. In this capacity, he will report to Jason Wells, PG&E Corporation's Chief Financial Officer. As Chief Audit Officer, Cairns will oversee PG&E's internal audit function, including its expanded role in supplier auditing and proactive fraud detection efforts through advanced analytics. Cairns will also oversee a new program to improve PG&E's quality assurance functions in addition to his oversight of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, third-party risk management, market and credit risk management, and loss control and insurance. Cairns joined PG&E in 2006 as Senior Director, Internal Auditing, and subsequently took on the leadership of Compliance and Ethics. Between June 2008 and March 2010, Cairns served as Controller. Francisco Benavides, who currently serves as PG&E's Vice President and Chief Safety Officer, will be elevated to Senior Vice President level, effective immediately. Benavides was appointed to the role in February 2020 and will continue reporting to PG&E Corporation's Interim Chief Executive Officer Bill Smith.

16:49 EDT Retailwinds trading halted, news pending

16:39 EDT Retail Properties of America has collected 65.3% of Q2 rent - Retail Properties of America provided an update on cash rent collection statistics for the months of April, May and June. Compared to the previously reported 60.3% of April rent collected as of May 28, the company has received 67.4% of April rent as of June 30. Compared to the previously reported 52.4% of May rent collected as of May 28, the company has received 63.7% of May rent as of June 30. Rent collection for June as of June 30, 2020 totals 64.7%, ahead of the realized collection pace of both April and May during the same days of those calendar months. In the aggregate, the company has collected 65.3% of Q2 rent as of June 30. Based, in part, on the upward trajectory of daily cash collections in May and June, and the ongoing re-opening of the company's tenant base, the company repaid substantial amounts during June on its $850M unsecured revolving line of credit, which was nearly fully drawn on March 31. As of June 30, the company had $135 million outstanding on the revolver and $715M in revolver availability.

16:33 EDT Cellectis says FDA places clinical hold on MELANI-01 study - Cellectis announced that the MELANI-01 trial has been placed on clinical hold by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This clinical hold which impacts one of the three Cellectis product candidates currently in clinical studies, was initiated following the submission of a safety report regarding one patient enrolled in the MELANI-01 study at dose level two (DL2), with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. This patient, who had been treated unsuccessfully, prior to enrollment with numerous lines of prior therapy, including autologous CAR T-cells, experienced a fatal treatment-emergent adverse event of cardiac arrest. Clinical evaluation of the case remains ongoing and additional details as to the immediate and underlying causes of this event are being collected. Of note, prior to the clinical hold being issued by the FDA, Cellectis had decided to expand enrollment at DL1, which may be the appropriate dose for further evaluation in the expansion portion of the trial and potentially the recommended Phase 2 dose based on an assessment of the preliminary clinical and translational data. The Company had begun executing updates to the clinical protocol to reflect this as well as to monitor and mitigate for additional potential risks given its novel mechanism of action. "We share the FDA's commitment to patient safety and are working collaboratively with the agency and the investigators to resolve this clinical hold," said Carrie Brownstein, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Cellectis. "The safety of patients enrolled in our clinical trials is our utmost priority and we at Cellectis remain committed to safely resuming the clinical development of UCART product candidate targeting CS1 for patients with multiple myeloma and unmet medical need."

16:32 EDT Asur reports June passenger traffic down 89.7% y/y - Asur announced that total passenger traffic for June 2020 decreased 89.7% when compared to June 2019. Passenger traffic decreased 90.4% in Mexico, 75.9% in Puerto Rico and 99.8% in Colombia, impacted by severe downturns in business and leisure travel stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. This announcement reflects comparisons between June 1 through June 30, 2020 and from June 1 through June 30, 2019. Transit and general aviation passengers are excluded for Mexico and Colombia.

16:31 EDT Arcos Dorados CEO provides business update amid COVID-19 - Arcos Dorados provided an update on the COVID-19 impact to its operations and reported its comparable sales results for Q2 ahead of its quarterly earnings announcement. CEO Marcelo Rabach said, "More than one hundred days have passed since the COVID-19 pandemic began impacting our markets in earnest and it has been just over one year since I took on the responsibilities of CEO for Arcos Dorados... I am incredibly proud of and thankful for the efforts of all our team members and partners. While we prioritize our short-term financial results, we are also keenly focused on our long-term strategic objectives and I am convinced that we are the best positioned QSR operator in Latin America to not only traverse this historically challenging period but emerge in an even stronger competitive position than when it began. Starting in the middle of April, the number of open restaurants rose steadily, ending the second quarter with 88% operating at least one segment. As we predicted on our last earnings call in May, our comparable sales results improved sequentially throughout the second quarter. The improving results were due in large part to our network of free-standing and in-store restaurants, which comprise an industry-leading 60% of our footprint across the region and supported the two most relevant sales segments so far in the pandemic: drive-thru and delivery. Our drive-thru segment is up by more than 50% in nearly all our markets. Over the years, we remained committed to expanding our footprint with a healthy mix of free-standing restaurants because of the format's ability to adapt to long-term consumer trends and varying economic conditions. After the pandemic has passed, we believe these restaurants will see efficiency gains as a result of a permanent increase in the drive-thru segment's sales contribution... Given the current operating context, delivery sales have risen by at least 150% in our markets, with some growing more than 500% versus the prior year. Similar to drive-thru, we believe consumer experiences with delivery during this period are acting as a catalyst for the segment's future sales contribution. We have also remained committed to the digital transformation of our business, despite the pressures of the pandemic. The digital marketing team has added functionality to the industry's most popular Mobile App, helping meet ambitious digital sales targets so far this year. They are also developing true customer relationship management (CRM) and data analysis capabilities by building the team's internal expertise and partnering with leaders from the software industry, including Salesforce, to bring new insights to our digital marketing efforts. Due to proactive cost and investment reductions as well as other cash management initiatives, we stabilized operating cash flow around April 20th, which allowed us to limit additional borrowing from our short-term credit lines in the quarter. We expect our leverage ratios to increase throughout 2020 mostly due to a decline in our adjusted EBITDA but also due to higher net debt. Importantly, McDonald's Corporation provided a waiver through the end of 2020 with respect to the leverage ratios contained in our Master Franchise Agreement. In closing, one of our most important Values is contributing to the development of the communities in which we operate. For the last several years, our Environmental, Social and Governance program, Receta del Futuro (Recipe for the Future), has been aligned with McDonald's Corporation's Scale for Good initiatives to ensure that we source our raw materials responsibly, generate formal job opportunities for first-time young job seekers and minimize the environmental impact of our entire System. The short-term may be clouded by the uncertainty of this global crisis, but the long-term priorities for our business remain crystal clear to me and I look forward to discussing them on our next earnings call in mid-August."

16:22 EDT Chembio Diagnostics to submit applications for revised DPP COVID-19 IgM/IgG EUA - Chembio Diagnostics announced its plans to submit applications to the FDA for Emergency Use Authorization, or EUA, for a revised version of the DPP COVID-19 IgM/IgG System, a COVID-19 point-of-care serology system, and the DPP COVID-19 Antigen System, a new COVID-19 point-of-care antigen system. The DPP COVID-19 IgM/IgG System consists of Chembio's serology test for COVID-19 and a DPP Micro Reader analyzer. On April 15, 2020, the DPP COVID-19 IgM/IgG System was granted an EUA. Subsequently, the FDA announced performance review based in part on a National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute, or NCI, process for the evaluation of COVID-19 serology tests. The NCI report acknowledges that this process, which evaluates COVID-19 serology test sensitivity and specificity using a panel of pre-selected samples, may not be indicative of either performance in the real-world or performance of finger stick blood as used in the Chembio system. On June 16, the FDA revoked the EUA for the DPP COVID-19 IgM/IgG System. As a result, Chembio is revising its system with the objective of meeting the FDA's new criteria, including the use of the NCI process. Chembio expects, based on its development efforts to date, to apply for an EUA for the revised system during Q3.

16:19 EDT Barnes Group to cut workforce by 8%, take $18M restructuring charge in Q2 - Barnes Group announced that given the macroeconomic disruption brought on by the global COVID-19 pandemic, it will take a Q2 restructuring charge, primarily severance related, of approximately $18M. This charge is anticipated to have a "negligible cash impact" in Q2, an approximate $10M cash impact in the second half of 2020, and the remaining cash impact in 2021. Through manufacturing and functional workforce reductions, the company anticipates annualized cost savings of approximately $30M with realization of the savings beginning in the second half of 2020. These actions are expected to reduce Barnes Group's global workforce by approximately 8%. CEO Patrick Dempsey says: "The unprecedented disruption in global industrial and aerospace end markets brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic necessitates our adjusting costs throughout the company to align with demand. Our ability to manage costs allows Barnes Group to remain competitive as we weather the pandemic and best position the company for an economic resurgence".

16:18 EDT Superconductor Technologies enters SPA with Clearday subsidiary - Superconductor Technologies and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Allied Integral United entered into a securities purchase agreement, or SPA, on June 30, which was consummated on July 6, pursuant to which STI issued 4M shares of STI common stock in exchange for a preferred equity interest in real estate that STI values at $1.6M, implying a purchase price of 40c per share. STI, AIU Special Merger, a wholly-owned subsidiary of STI and Allied Integral United, known as Clearday, entered into an agreement and plan of merger, pursuant to which, among other matters, and subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions set forth in the merger agreement, merger sub will merge with and into Clearday, with Clearday continuing as a wholly-owned subsidiary of STI, and STI would amend its certificate of incorporation to effect a reverse stock split of its shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share and change its name to Clearday. STI received a 50% preferred equity interest in Naples JV, a single-asset holding company that owns 100% of the equity interests of a single-asset limited liability company which, in turn, solely owns an un-encumbered fee simple interest in a three story commercial office building in San Antonio, Texas, that serves as the corporate headquarters of Clearday and also has other medical office tenants. In addition, the building, which is located in an opportunity zone, is expected to be the location for one of Clearday's adult daycare centers and to be a site to use and/or test a product to improve air quality utilizing STI's existing Cryogenic Cooler as an enabling technology for one of Clearday's service offerings in the home healthcare market. Clearday owns the other 50% of holdings in the form of common equity. STI has a $1.6M preference over the Clearday common equity in connection with any liquidity event involving holdings, Property LLC or the building and each of Clearday and STI have a 50% interest in any ordinary course distributions from Holdings. STI's preferred interest is redeemed upon payment to STI of its full liquidation preference in cash.

16:16 EDT Luby's regains compliance with NYSE minimum price listing standard - Luby's announced that, on July 1, 2020, the company was notified by the New York Stock Exchange that the company has regained compliance with the NYSE's continued listing standards. On April 20, 2020, the company was notified by NYSE of its noncompliance with the NYSE's continued listing standards because the average closing price of shares of its common stock had fallen below $1.00 per share over a period of 30 consecutive trading days, which is the minimum average closing price per share required to maintain continued listing on the NYSE. Luby's regained compliance after its average closing price for the 30-trading days ended June 30, 2020 was above the NYSE's minimum requirement of $1.00 per share based on a 30-trading day average. Accordingly, the company is no longer considered below the $1.00 per share continued listing criterion and the below compliance ".BC" indicator has been removed from the company's common shares.

16:11 EDT Fuel Tech awarded multiple orders totaling $2.2M - Fuel Tech announced the receipt of multiple equipment orders from customers in the U.S. and Europe. These awards have an aggregate value of approximately $2.2M. In Europe, two separate contracts were received for NOxOUT Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction systems for single units firing natural gas and biomass. In the US, an order was received for equipment supporting Fuel Tech's FUEL CHEM TIFI Targeted In-Furnace Injection technology that assists primarily coal-fired power generation units burn lower-quality fuels more cleanly and efficiently.

16:09 EDT Great Lakes Dredge receives $51.1M in dredging awards - Great Lakes Dredge announced the receipt of several dredging awards totaling $51.1M. The CPRA Cameron Meadows Marsh Creation Project involves the creation of a new marsh area in Cameron Meadows, Louisiana, using material dredged from a borrow source offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. Work on this project will commence in Q4. The Oak Island Beach Project entails placement of beach fill material, excavated from the designated Jay Bird Shoals borrow area, along approximately three and a half miles of beach for the Town of Oak Island, North Carolina. This project also includes dune grass planting on areas of restore berms. Work will begin in Q4.mThe New York and New Jersey Harbor, Port Jersey Channel Maintenance Dredging Federal Navigation Project involves maintenance dredging of shoaled material with offshore disposal at the Historic Area Remediation Site, or HARS, which is approximately five miles east of Sandy Hook, New Jersey. Mechanical dredging work will begin on this project in July. The Jacksonville Harbor Maintenance Dredging Project consists of channel maintenance dredging in various locations within the Lower Terminal Channel of Jacksonville Harbor. Work on this project will be completed in September.

16:06 EDT Parsons awarded $178M, five-year contract - Parsons Corporation was awarded a $178M, five-year indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract by the Intelligence Community. The company will provide security and protection of classified and sensitive information, facilities, assets, infrastructure and personnel worldwide through a comprehensive analysis of risk and deployment of physical and technical security countermeasures.

16:03 EDT United Insurance names Bradford Martz as President - United Insurance announced its board has appointed B. Bradford Martz, CFO, to also serve as the company's President. Mr. Martz will continue to report to the company's CEO, R. Daniel Peed. In his expanded role, Mr. Martz will oversee the company's daily operations.

15:11 EDT FDA alerts clinical lab staff on COVID false positives risk with BD Max System - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting clinical laboratory staff and health care providers of an increased risk of a false positive result with BD SARS-CoV-2 Reagents for the BD Max System test. In one study, the manufacturer found approximately three percent of results were false positive results, the FDA stated. The FDA recommends clinical laboratory staff and health care providers: Consider any positive result presumptive from tests using the BD SARS-CoV-2 Reagents for the BD Max System; Consider confirming with an alternate authorized test; and report any issues with using COVID-19 tests to the FDA. Reference Link

12:48 EDT Duke Energy boosts quarterly dividend to 96.5c from 94.5c - Duke Energy declared a quarterly cash dividend on its common stock of 96.5c, an increase of 2c per share. This dividend is payable on Sept. 16, to shareholders of record at the close of business Aug. 14.

12:26 EDT Microsoft to showcase first-party Xbox Series X games on July 23 - Microsoft plans to hold its Xbox Series X games reveal event on July 23 at 12:00 pm ET, during which the company will showcase games made by Xbox Game Studios. The Verge's Tom Warren noted the company will reveal more on its first party games during the event, including "Halo Infinite." Reference Link

12:12 EDT Disney announces overall first-look deal with Colin Kaepernick's Ra Vision Media - The Walt Disney Company announced an overall first-look deal with Colin Kaepernick's production arm Ra Vision Media. The partnership will focus on telling scripted and unscripted stories that explore race, social injustice and the quest for equity, and will provide a new platform to showcase the work of Black and Brown directors and producers. The first-look deal will extend across all Walt Disney Platforms including Walt Disney Television, ESPN, Hulu, Pixar, and The Undefeated. Kaepernick will work closely with The Undefeated, which is expanding its portfolio across Disney, to develop stories from the perspective of Black and Brown communities. The first project in development as part of this deal is an exclusive docuseries chronicling Kaepernick's journey. Using extensive new interviews and a vast never-before-seen archive that documents his last five years, Kaepernick will tell his story from his perspective. Libby Geist, Kevin Merida and Connor Schell will executive produce for ESPN. Kaepernick has enlisted the help of Jemele Hill, who previously worked for both ESPN and The Undefeated, as a producer on the project. Further details will be announced. Reference Link

12:00 EDT NIO Inc. rises 24.8% - NIO Inc. is up 24.8%, or $2.33 to $11.71.

11:21 EDT MidWestOne names Len Davaisher as president and COO, effective July 27 - MidWestOne Financial Group announced the appointment of Len Devaisher as President and COO for both MidWestOne Financial Group and MidWestOne Bank effective July 27, 2020. Devaisher most recently was Old National Bank's Wisconsin Region CEO.

11:00 EDT Ocular Therapeutix reports protocol deviation in OTX-TKI trial - In a regulatory filing earlier, Ocular Therapeutix reported that on May 14 the company disclosed the receipt of interim data regarding its ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of OTX-TKI. The Phase 1 clinical trial is a multi-center, open-label, dose-escalation study in Australia designed to evaluate the safety, biological activity, durability and tolerability of OTX-TKI. "At the time of the prior disclosure, two cohorts of six subjects each had been enrolled, a lower dose cohort of 200 microgram and a higher dose cohort of 400 microgram. The company also amended the trial protocol to provide for a third cohort of subjects to receive a higher dose of 600 microgram. The company previously disclosed that, as of May 13, 2020, the first two patients in the second cohort had shown a clinically meaningful reduction in intraretinal and/or subretinal fluid out to six months with a single implant. The company has now received further information from the clinical trial site in Australia where these two patients are being treated. Specifically, the clinical trial site has reported to the company that one of these two patients showing a clinically meaningful reduction in intraretinal and/or subretinal fluid was treated with anti-VEGF medication at a site visit at month 4.5 - in mid-March 2020 - and at month 6 - in early May 2020. The patient who was treated with anti-VEGF medication at the visits at month 4.5 and month 6 exhibited a clinically meaningful reduction in intraretinal fluid out to 4.5 months with a single OTX-TKI implant before treatment with anti-VEGF medication. However, because of the use of anti-VEGF medication beginning with the 4.5 month visit, the company is not able to appropriately evaluate durability of treatment with OTX-TKI in this patient beyond 4.5 months. The clinical trial protocol and/or guidelines for completing electronic case report forms for the trial provide that (1) anti-VEGF medication may be administered at the investigator's discretion based on consideration of predefined, specified criteria relating to a loss of visual acuity or increase in retinal fluid, (2) the clinical trial site should notify a medical monitor within three days of treatment with anti-VEGF medication, (3) administration of anti-VEGF medication should be entered into the clinical trial database in a timely manner and (4) a follow-up visit should occur within seven to ten days after administration of anti-VEGF medication to determine the effect of treatment. However, based on information made available to the company, none of these elements of the clinical trial protocol or electronic case report form guidelines were followed at the clinical trial site with respect to treatment of this particular patient with anti-VEGF medication after insertion of the OTX-TKI implant. In particular, the patient was treated with anti-VEGF medication despite not meeting the predefined criteria relating to loss of visual acuity or increase in retinal fluid and the administration of anti-VEGF medication at the month 4.5 visit and at the month 6 visit was not entered into the clinical trial database until after a subsequent visit at month 7.5 in mid-June 2020. As a result, this information was not available to or known by the company in connection with its prior disclosures. It is the company's understanding that at the time of and following the 4.5 month visit in mid-March 2020, the clinical and research operations of the trial site were being adversely impacted by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This Phase 1 trial is continuing, and the company intends to present more complete data for the first two cohorts when available at a future medical conference. As previously planned, the third 600 microgram cohort of the trial was initiated, with the first patient in this cohort being enrolled. The company also plans to file an application by the end of 2020 to initiate clinical development of OTX-TKI in the United States for patients with wet age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema and retinal vein occlusion. Based on trial data currently available to the company, OTX-TKI continues to be generally well tolerated and has been observed to have a favorable safety profile, with no ocular serious adverse events to date."

10:36 EDT Qubit GP discloses 7.7% stake in Pinduoduo - Qubit GP Limited disclosed a 7.7% stake in Pinduoduo, which represents over 370.7M shares. The filing with the SEC allows for activism. Qubit said it obtained the class A ordinary shares "for the purpose of conducting activities to promote and improve sustainability and governance" of the company and "carry out the vision, mission and value" of it and/or other scientific research or charitable activities.

10:20 EDT Cintas to close Menomonee Falls operation as of August 31 - Cintas Corporation announced that it will close its Menomonee Falls facility. Cintas regularly examines its operations to determine the optimal structure for continued customer service and future growth, and as such has recently analyzed the Milwaukee market. Based upon this study, and unforeseeable business circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has made the decision to close its Menomonee Falls location at N51 W139915, Northpark Drive as of August 31, 2020 and transition servicing its customers and processing products to other local operations. Cintas remains committed to providing great service with no disruptions to customers during this transition. The company also remains committed to continuing to be a good corporate citizen to the Milwaukee community. Affected employee-partners are encouraged to apply for open positions at other area Cintas facilities. If the company is unable to offer continuing employment, severance pay, and optional continued healthcare coverage will be provided.

10:19 EDT Crown Castle responds to Elliott, says open to continuing dialogue - Crown Castle International issued a statement in response to the letter from Elliott Associates, L.P. and Elliott International, stating in part in a press release: "Since its inception over 25 years ago, Crown Castle has established an unmatched portfolio of towers, small cell networks and fiber, which are all integral components of communications networks and are shared among multiple tenants. By continuing to execute on our strategy to own and operate this critical infrastructure within the communications ecosystem in the United States, we believe we are providing the best opportunity for Crown Castle to generate significant growth while delivering compelling returns for shareholders. We believe the U.S. is the best market in the world for shared communications infrastructure ownership. Through our investment of approximately $30 billion over the last ten years, we have built a unique portfolio of assets, unparalleled capabilities and strong customer relationships that position us well to capture the upside of the anticipated decade-long investment cycle required to meet the increasing demand for mobile data and deploy 5G in the U.S. While continuing to make the investments necessary to access this potential, we remain confident in our ability to generate compelling value for our shareholders, including through our goal of growing our dividend per share 7% to 8% per year...As is always the case, the Crown Castle Board of Directors and management team are open to all ideas to enhance shareholder value. In this regard, members of our Board and management team have met with Elliott multiple times to fully understand and extensively evaluate their assumptions and proposed changes to our strategic plan. While we firmly believe our strategy best positions Crown Castle to deliver near- and long-term value creation, we remain open to having continuing dialogue with Elliott, as we do with all shareholders."

10:16 EDT BBVA USA to gradually reopen banking center lobbies - BBVA USA announced that it has begun the process of reopening its branch lobbies, originally closed in mid-March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although branches continued to provide drive-thru services throughout the pandemic, the vast majority of lobbies were closed as a proactive measure to protect the health and well-being of customers, employees and communities. The lobbies will begin reopening in markets identified as "ready to reopen" based on a data-driven proprietary model to guide decision making. The bank will continue to monitor incoming data in the event it needs to rescind reopening decisions for the safety of its employees and clients. "Recent weeks have made it clear that the pandemic is not done with us yet," said BBVA Head of Retail Banking Larry Franco. "The pragmatic model we're using to reopen allows us to understand this external environment and make plans based on emerging data and conditions. All of these decisions are being made with the utmost care for the health and safety of our team and customers."

09:58 EDT Dominion dividend cut 'not permanent'

09:47 EDT Small Cap Bear 3x falls -5.7% - Small Cap Bear 3x is down -5.7%, or -$1.22 to $20.28.

09:47 EDT VelocityShares 3x Long Natural Gas ETN rises 16.1% - VelocityShares 3x Long Natural Gas ETN is up 16.1%, or $1.53 to $11.03.

09:47 EDT China Life Insurance rises 18.9% - China Life Insurance is up 18.9%, or $1.96 to $12.36.

09:45 EDT Gol Linhas reports preliminary June domestic traffic up 95.4% vs. May - In the domestic market in June 2020, demand was up by 95.4% over May 2020 and supply increased by 84.8% over May 2020. GOL's domestic load factor was 79.1% in June.

09:43 EDT China Online Education trading resumes

09:38 EDT China Online Education trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:30 EDT Ascendis Pharma receives opinion from PDCO on PIP for TransCon hGH - Ascendis Pharma announced that it received an opinion from the Paediatric Committee, or PDCO, of the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, on its agreement with the proposed Paediatric Investigation Plan, or PIP, for TransCon hGH, an investigational long-acting once-weekly prodrug of somatropin in development for treatment of growth hormone deficiency, or GHD. The positive opinion is based on the non-clinical safety program, as well as data from the three phase 3 clinical trials provided to PDCO from the ongoing TransCon hGH development program, which will be included in the upcoming Marketing Authorisation Application, or MAA. The PIP opinion from PDCO endorsed the TransCon hGH program as acceptable for assessment of safety and efficacy for the use of TransCon hGH as a treatment for growth hormone deficiency in children from six months to less than 18 years of age, mirroring the population covered by the studies conducted in the program.

09:25 EDT New Fortress Energy agrees to terminate Centrica LNG obligation for $105M - New Fortress Energy announced that the company entered into an agreement with Centrica LNG to terminate New Fortress's obligation to purchase any additional LNG from Centrica for the remainder of 2020 in exchange for a payment of $105M. As a result, New Fortress will now be able to purchase LNG in the open market at prices that are lower than the price previously agreed to with Centrica. As a result of facilities commencing operations in Puerto Rico in addition to Jamaica, New Fortress has made progress toward achieving committed volumes of over $400M on an annualized basis during the third quarter of 2020. The company expects annualized cash SG&A and annualized cash interest payments to be approximately $80M and $80M, respectively, during the same period. In addition, the company is currently advancing projects in both Mexico and Nicaragua, with the goal of substantially completing these projects by the end of 2020. Once fully operational, New Fortress aims for these projects to contribute an additional approximately $150M toward the company's illustrative annualized operating margin goal from committed volumes.

09:21 EDT Dominion: Sale of gas operations will enhance credit profile - Comments taken from Dominion's investor update conference call.

09:17 EDT Churchill Downs announces temporary suspension of operations at FL Calder Casino - Churchill Downs Incorporated announced the temporary suspension of operations at Calder Casino in Miami Gardens, Florida on Friday, July 3. CDI said in a release, "The closure follows a Miami-Dade Emergency Order issued by Mayor Carlos Gimenez to close entertainment venues in an effort to control the rise in COVID-19 cases. CDI will work with Miami-Dade county and State officials to reopen Calder as soon as it is appropriate to do so."

09:15 EDT Canadian National to invest C$20M across New Bruunswick in 2020 - Canadian National announced that it plans to invest approximately C$20M across New Brunswick in 2020. The program will focus on rebuilding and strengthening bridges, the replacement of rail and ties, rebuilding road crossing surfaces as well as maintenance work on culverts, signal systems and other track infrastructure. The Company's investments will create greater capacity, which supports reductions in its customer's transportation supply chain GHG emissions, by encouraging the use of rail for long haul needs. This reduces emissions, traffic congestion, accidents and burdens on public transportation infrastructure as one freight train can replace over 300 trucks from roads. Moving freight by rail instead of truck reduces GHG emissions by 75%. The company will continue to deploy important safety enhancing technologies such as the Autonomous Track Inspection Program, and Automated Inspection Portals. Maintenance program highlights include: replacement of 8 miles of rail, installation of approximately 10,000 new railroad ties, rebuilds of five road crossing surfaces, and maintenance work on infrastructure.

09:11 EDT Sinovac Biotech announces update to COVID-19 partnership with Butantan - Sinovac Biotech announced an update to its previously announced partnership with Butantan, a Brazilian producer of immunobiologic products and vaccines. On July 3, the Brazilian National Regulatory Agency, Anvisa, granted approval to a phase III clinical trial sponsored by Instituto Butantan to test efficacy and safety of the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac Life Sciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, in Brazil. This trial aims to be a pivotal study to support the licensure of this product. Anvisa's process review included manufacturing and clinical information generated by Sinovac, and a clinical development plan and trial protocol developed by Butantan. The agency fast-tracked the application due to the public health emergency which took approximately two weeks to conclude. The review was conducted and qualified as a full functional regulatory agency for the World Health Organization prequalification process. This study will recruit nearly 9,000 healthcare professionals working in COVID-19 specialized facilities in twelve clinical sites located in several states in Brazil. The inclusion of participants is scheduled to start this month after ethical approval is obtained from each clinical site.

09:07 EDT SG Blocks executes $4M contract to manufacture a boutique in Florida - SG Blocks announced it has executed a $4M contract to manufacture a boutique, mixed-use hospitality project with a leading Florida-based general contractor. Located amongst the Everglades, plans for the development feature 24 hospitality units to be made available for guests, as well as a dining component. The contract is expected to commence in August and to be completed in the first quarter of 2021.

09:05 EDT Vistra Energy appoints Tom Farrah as Chief Information Officer - Vistra (VST) announced the appointment of Tom Farrah as senior vice president and Chief Information Officer, effective July 6. Vistra said in a release, "Farrah is replacing outgoing CIO, Ravi Malik, who has announced his resignation to pursue other opportunities. Farrah will report to Curt Morgan, Vistra's CEO, and will be responsible for ensuring the reliability, security, and continued development of the company's technology platforms as well as delivering new solutions to support the business. Before joining Vistra, Farrah most recently served as senior vice president of business transformation of Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP)."

09:03 EDT T. Rowe Price receives approval for active ETFs - T. Rowe Price announced that the SEC has granted the remaining approvals necessary for the firm to bring to market four active exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, which will be listed on NYSE Arca. T. Rowe Price said in a release, "These latest milestones clear the path for T. Rowe Price to introduce ETFs in an active management format that has characterized the firm's investment approach for more than 80 years. Constructed similarly to investment strategies that have served clients well for decades, the first T. Rowe Price active ETFs will include the Blue Chip Growth ETF, the Dividend Growth ETF, the Equity Income ETF, and the Growth Stock ETF. The active ETFs will use the same investment strategies and portfolio managers as their corresponding mutual funds. While many existing ETFs track passive indexes, the T. Rowe Price active ETFs will employ the firm's established strategic investing approach, characterized by rigorous research and risk awareness, and carried out by more than 600 investment professionals around the globe. ETFs will diversify and complement T. Rowe Price's traditional mutual fund offerings for investors who prefer the intraday trading, tax efficiency, and cost structure ETFs provide. However, the firm believes mutual funds will remain a key vehicle for many investors. The T. Rowe Price active ETFs will offer the key features associated with existing ETFs, including continuous daily trading, real-time market determined pricing, and tax efficiency, but with the opportunity for investors to pursue returns in excess of market indexes. T. Rowe Price's active ETFs will feature a proprietary portfolio disclosure process that will ensure market makers have enough information to quote prices with a high degree of confidence, while it also protects the intellectual property of the firm's investment professionals and the interests of its funds shareholders. Over time, T. Rowe Price plans to deliver a robust ETF product lineup covering investments in various asset classes. Through strategic alliances, T. Rowe Price plans to offer its active ETF model to other asset managers interested in bringing their own active ETFs to market. T. Rowe Price anticipates launching its active ETFs in 2020."

08:53 EDT USA Technologies appoints Davina Furnish as General Counsel - USA Technologies announced that Davina Furnish has been named General Counsel. USA Technologies said in a release, "Davina Furnish joins the company as its General Counsel, effective July 6. In her role she will oversee and direct all of USAT's legal affairs, supporting the company's growth initiatives. She will be based in Atlanta, GA."

08:47 EDT Sina announces receipt of preliminary non-binding 'going private' proposal - SINA announced that its board has received a preliminary non-binding proposal letter, dated July 6, from New Wave MMXV Limited, proposing to acquire all the outstanding ordinary shares of the Company not already owned by New Wave for $41 per share in cash in a going private transaction. SINA said in a release, "New Wave is a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and controlled by Mr. Charles Chao, Chairman and CEO of the Company. The board has formed a special committee consisting of independent directors Mr. Songyi Zhang, Yichen Zhang and Yan Wang to evaluate and consider the Proposed Transaction. The board cautions the Company's shareholders and others considering trading in its securities that the board just received the non-binding proposal letter from New Wave and no decisions have been made with respect to the Company's response to the Proposed Transaction. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made, that any agreement will be entered into or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated. The Company does not undertake any obligation to provide any updates with respect to this or any other transaction, except as required by applicable law."

08:44 EDT Acadia Realty provides core portfolio update - Acadia Realty Trust (AKR) provided an update on its core portfolio operations and partial monetization of its investment in Albertsons (ACI). As of June 30, approximately 86% of its pro-rata gross leasable area in the company's Core portfolio was open for business. The company has been actively preparing its locations and working with its tenants to ensure that they are able to reopen as safely as possible. As of June 30, the company has collected cash and/or reached payment deferral plans on approximately 83% of its second quarter billed rents and recoveries within its core portfolio. This is comprised of cash collections of 71% and payment deferral plans of 12%. The majority of these deferral plans are with national credit tenants and provide for repayment within one year. Of the remaining 17% of billed rent and recoveries, the company is in active discussions with its tenants to bring these accounts current as locations continue to reopen. To date, the company has agreed to abatements of less than one percent of its annualized base rent, or ABR. The company anticipates recognizing these abatements in Q2 operating results. The company's street and urban portfolio is located in key gateway markets and comprises approximately 60% of its Core ABR. During Q2, the company collected approximately 70% of its street and urban portfolio's billed rents and recoveries. The company's suburban portfolio represents approximately 40% of its Core ABR, of which the company collected approximately 72% of its billed rents and recoveries during Q2 of 2020. The company's cash collections of 71% for the three months ended June 30 compares favorably to its two most recent interim updates of 56% and 50% previously provided on June 1 and May 5, respectively. Additional repayment plans are currently in the process of being finalized. There can be no assurance that all payment deferral plans will be consummated on the agreed-upon terms and/or if consummated, repaid as required by terms of the agreement.

08:40 EDT Wrap Technologies announces BolaWrap purchases from police in TX, IL, MI - Wrap Technologies said in a release, "Wrap Technologies has received purchase orders for BolaWrap devices, cartridges and accessories from police agencies in Texas, Illinois and Michigan. Since June 1, the Company has received more than 250 requests from law enforcement agencies for quotes, training and demonstrations, which are beginning to translate into purchase orders."

08:36 EDT Pretium Resources appoints Patrick Godin as COO - Pretium Resources announces that Patrick Godin will be joining the Company as Vice President and COO effective August 1. Godin will succeed David Prins, Pretivm's Vice President, Operations. Pretium said in a release, "Most recently, Godin was President, CEO and Director of Stornoway Diamond Corporation, from January 2019 until June 2020."

08:35 EDT Jaguar Health subsidiary completes IND filing with FDA for crofelemer - Jaguar Health announced that the Company's wholly owned subsidiary Napo Pharmaceuticals has completed the filing of the investigational new drug application, or IND, with theFDA for crofelemer for the planned indication of prophylaxis and symptomatic relief of diarrhea in adult patients with solid tumors receiving targeted therapy with or without standard chemotherapy, or CTD. Jaguar Health said in a release, "A significant proportion of patients undergoing cancer therapy experience diarrhea. Novel "targeted cancer therapy" agents, such as epidermal growth factor receptor, or EGFR, antibodies and tyrosine kinase inhibitors, or TKIs, with or without cycle chemotherapy agents, may activate intestinal chloride ion channel-mediated secretory pathways leading to increased electrolyte and fluid content in the gut lumen, which results in passage of loose/watery stools, i.e. secretory diarrhea."

08:31 EDT ANI Pharmaceuticals acquires Fluconazole Tablets for $3M - ANI Pharmaceuticals said in a release, "ANI Pharmaceuticals announced the acquisition of Fluconazole Tablets USP, 50mg, 100mg, 150mg, and 200mg from a private company for $3 million. The current annual U.S. market for this product is approximately $40 million, according to IQVIA/IMS Health."

08:27 EDT MyoKardia appoints Denelle Waynick as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary - MyoKardia announced the appointment of Denelle Waynick as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. MyoKardia said in a release, "Ms. Waynick joins MyoKardia from UCB, Inc., bringing more than 25 years of domestic and international legal and business expertise in the healthcare and life-science industry. Cynthia Ladd, who has been leading MyoKardia's legal function as General Counsel since January 2018, will be retiring this year. Waynick most recently served as Vice President, Legal Affairs (US), US General Counsel & Head of Global Enterprise Risk Management at UCB."

08:24 EDT Lithium Americas workers test positive for COVID-19 at Cauchari-Olaroz project - Lithium Americas announced that workers at the Cauchari-Olaroz lithium project in Jujuy, Argentina tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, the COVID-19 protocol for Cauchari-Olaroz has been activated with construction activities temporarily suspended while additional testing is undertaken. On the afternoon of July 3, two workers tested positive for COVID-19. These workers are asymptomatic, in good health and have been provided with safe and preventative quarantine. In response, disinfection activities, quarantine and testing of first and second contact workers on site was implemented using polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests as well as all other required actions in accordance with the COVID-19 Health and Safety Protocol. Consequently, non-essential activities at site have been temporally suspended to focus on the health and safety of the Cauchari-Olaroz workforce, while enhanced health and safety and PCR testing is being carried out. The project team continues to engage with the Jujuy Province, local communities and stakeholders to protect the safety and health of all workers and nearby communities and will continue monitoring the situation closely as additional PCR tests results are received.

08:21 EDT ATIF Holdings establishes headquarters in Los Angeles - ATIF Holdings announced the establishment of its new headquarters in Los Angeles on July 1 for exploring North America market. Establishing an international headquarters in the United States is in line with ATIF's international development and geographic expansion strategies. Previously, ATIF has established headquarters in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

08:17 EDT GTT Communications appoints Don MacNeil as COO - GTT Communications said in a release, "The GTT board announces that Don MacNeil has joined the GTT leadership team as COO. MacNeil will lead GTT's network operations, service delivery, assurance and vendor management teams, as well as GTT's product organization. Prior to joining GTT, MacNeil was CEO at FiberLight."

08:14 EDT Freeport McMoRan sees Q2 adjusted EBITDA $650M - Assuming an average estimated Q2 copper price realization of $2.54 per pound and preliminary sales estimates, FCX expects Q2 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or adjusted EBITDA, to approximate $650M and expects to record a small net loss before nonrecurring items approximating 3c per share. These amounts exclude COVID-19 costs and nonrecurring costs associated with employee separation programs implemented in response to market conditions. At June 30, FCX had no amounts drawn under its $3.5B revolving credit facility. At June 30, total consolidated debt is estimated to approximate $9.9B and consolidated cash is estimated to approximate $1.5B. The 2020 financial estimates in this press release are based on modeled results and subject to further changes upon completion of FCX's normal closing process and finalization of quarterly financial and accounting procedures.

08:10 EDT CECO Environmental appoints Todd Gleason as CEO - CECO Environmental announced that Todd Gleason has been appointed to succeed Dennis Sadlowski as CEO of the Company. CECO said in a release, "The appointment concludes a comprehensive search that began in early 2020, in which CECO's Board of Directors, together with a leading executive search firm, worked to identify the right leader for CECO's next phase of growth. Gleason joins CECO from Scientific Analytics."

08:06 EDT Uber to acquire Postmates for $2.65B in all-stock transaction - Uber and Postmates announced that they have reached a definitive agreement under which Uber will acquire Postmates for approximately $2.65B in an all-stock transaction. This transaction brings together Uber's global Rides and Eats platform with Postmates' delivery business in the U.S. Additionally, Postmates has been an early pioneer of "delivery-as-a-service," which complements Uber's efforts in the delivery of groceries, essentials and other goods. For restaurants and merchants, Postmates and Uber Eats will together offer more tools and technology to connect with a bigger consumer base. Following the closing of the transaction, Uber intends to keep the consumer-facing Postmates app running separately. Uber currently estimates that it will issue approximately 84M shares of common stock for 100% of the fully diluted equity of Postmates. The boards of directors of both companies have approved the transaction, and stockholders representing a majority of Postmates' outstanding shares have committed to support the transaction. The transaction is subject to the approval of Postmates stockholders, regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in Q1 2021.

08:03 EDT InMode announces NMPA approval for 2 InMode platforms in China - InMode announced that it has received clearance from the China National Medical Products Administration NMPA, previously known as CFDA,- for two proprietary InMode radiofrequency platforms - the InMode RF platform and the InMode platform.

07:46 EDT Theratechnologies presents data from ibalizumab study at AIDS conference - Theratechnologies announced that data presented at the 23rd International AIDS Conference virtual meeting, demonstrates that ibalizumab is active in vitro against group A and group B HIV-2. The objective of the study, conducted by a team of researchers at Bichat-Claude Bernard Hospital and Saint-Antoine Hospital in Paris, France, was to assess the phenotypic susceptibility to ibalizumab of HIV-2 clinical isolates. Phenotypic assays were performed on six HIV-2 clinical isolates, one ROD HIV-2 group A reference strain and one BRU HIV-1 group M reference strain. Phenotypic susceptibility was assessed through 50% inhibitory concentrations and Maximum Percent Inhibition, or MPI. Ibalizumab inhibited viral replication in all seven HIV-2 isolates with IC50 ranging from 0.002 to 0.18ug/mL while MPI was below 80% in only two strains, between 80% and 90% in one stain and above 90% in 4 strains.

07:38 EDT Tradeweb Markets reports ADV of $780.9B in June, $778.4B in Q2 - Tradeweb Markets reported average daily volume, or ADV, of $780.9B in June, a decrease of 8.9% year over year. For Q2, Tradeweb reported ADV of $778.4B, up 3.5% YoY, and preliminary average variable fees per million dollars of volume traded of $2.56.

07:33 EDT Bellus sinks 78% to $2.80 after Phase 2 chronic cough failure

07:32 EDT ADC Therapeutics announces FDA lifts partial hold on camidanlumab tesirine trial - ADC Therapeutics announced that the FDA has lifted the partial clinical hold on the pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial of camidanlumab tesirine in patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma, or HL. The 100-patient Phase 2, multi-center, open-label, single-arm clinical trial is evaluating the safety and efficacy of Cami in patients with relapsed or refractory HL. Patients with pathologically confirmed relapsed or refractory HL who have failed three prior lines of therapy, including brentuximab vedotin and a checkpoint inhibitor approved for HL such as nivolumab or pembrolizumab, are eligible for enrollment in the clinical trial. The trial is intended to support the submission of a biologics license application to the FDA.

07:21 EDT Bellus Phase 2 trial of BLU-5937 did not achieve statistical significance

07:17 EDT Zealand Pharma announces opening of new Boston office - Pharma announced the opening of its new U.S. headquarters in Boston which will be led by recently appointed President of Zealand Pharma U.S., Frank Sanders. Zealand said in a release, "The new 5,000 square feet office, located in the Seaport at 34 Farnsworth Street, will accommodate about 40 employees who will be primarily focused on commercial and HR functions. In addition to the Seaport location, Zealand Pharma also has U.S offices in Marlborough, MA and New York, NY. In April, Zealand Pharma accelerated its U.S. commercial buildout with the asset acquisition of Valeritas Holdings, Inc., which included the marketed V-Go wearable insulin delivery device, the transfer of 110 employees as well as supporting systems, processes and the majority of established contracts. Zealand has two proprietary molecules with four differentiated late stage programs/drug-device products/indications; dasiglucagon to improve the treatment of metabolic diseases and glepaglutide, for gastrointestinal diseases."

07:14 EDT Avrobio doses new patients in Gaucher disease, cystinosis clinical trials - AVROBIO announced that the first patient has been dosed in the company's GuardOne clinical trial, a Phase 1/2 investigational study evaluating AVR-RD-02 for Gaucher disease type 1. AVROBIO said in a release, "The company also announced that the second patient has been dosed in the ongoing investigator-sponsored Phase 1/2 clinical trial of AVR-RD-04 for cystinosis. The company's Phase 1/2 trial of AVR-RD-02 for Gaucher disease type 1 is currently recruiting patients in Australia and Canada, with new clinical sites expected to open in the U.S. and Israel by year-end. The second patient has been dosed in the company's AVR-RD-04 investigational gene therapy program for cystinosis. The ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial is sponsored by the company's academic collaborators at the University of California, San Diego and is led by Stephanie Cherqui, Ph.D., associate professor of pediatrics at UCSD. The Phase 1/2 clinical trial is evaluating the safety and efficacy of AVR-RD-04 in patients at least 18 years of age who are currently being treated with cysteamine. The trial will enroll up to six patients. AVR-RD-04 starts with the patient's own hematopoietic stem cells, which are genetically modified to produce functional cystinosin, the protein that is deficient in cystinosis."

07:10 EDT Anavex commences enrollment in ANAVEX3-71 trial - Anavex announced the enrollment of the first participant in a Phase 1 clinical trial of ANAVEX3-71, an orally-administered small molecule targeting sigma-1 and M1 muscarinic receptors that is designed to be beneficial for neurodegenerative diseases with topline data anticipated in the first half of 2021.

07:08 EDT Aurora Cannabis appoints Miguel Martin as Chief Commercial Officer - Aurora Cannabis announced that Miguel Martin, President of Aurora USA and head of Reliva has been appointed Chief Commercial Officer of Aurora, effective immediately. Martin will replace Darren Karasiuk who has held this position at Aurora since February 2019.

07:05 EDT Staar Surgical announces Patrick Williams as CFO - Staar Surgical announced that Patrick Williams has joined the company as CFO effective immediately. Williams is reporting to Caren Mason, president and CEO. His appointment is part of a planned transition following Deborah Andrews' previously announced retirement. Andrews will continue in an advisory role to ensure a transition of duties to Williams. Williams joins STAAR with over 20 years of financial and operational management experience with public companies. Williams was most recently at Sientra, where he initially served as the CFO before transitioning to the GM of the miraDry business unit.

07:01 EDT Becton Dickinson launches portable, rapid point-of-care COVID-19 antigen test - BD announced that the FDA granted Emergency Use Authorization, or EUA, for a rapid, point-of-care, SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic test for use with its broadly available BD Veritor Plus System. BD said in a release, "The launch of this new assay that delivers results in 15 minutes on an easy-to-use, highly portable instrument is critical for improving access to COVID-19 diagnostics because it enables real-time results and decision making while the patient is still onsite. The BD Veritor(TM) System, which is slightly larger than a cell phone, is currently in use at more than 25,000 hospitals, clinician offices, urgent care centers and retail pharmacies in all 50 U.S. states. Its one-button functionality, workflow flexibility, and ease-of-use make it an ideal solution for settings without laboratory personnel. It also offers customers real-time reporting capabilities through the BD Synapsys informatics solution providing them with the ability to easily report data for disease monitoring and surveillance purposes. BD is leveraging its global manufacturing network and scale and expects to increase capacity to be able to produce 2 million tests per week by the end of September. The company already expects to produce up to 10 million tests from July through September."

06:57 EDT Merck announces new analyses from islatravir trial - Merck announced new analyses from the Phase 2b trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of islatravir, the company's investigational oral nucleoside reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitor, or NRTTI, in combination with doravirine, in adults with HIV-1 infection who had not previously received antiretroviral treatment. The first sub-analysis further characterized the tolerability and safety profile of islatravir in combination with doravirine through Week 48 across the three dose levels studied. The second sub-analysis demonstrated that participants who initiated treatment with islatravir and doravirine in combination with 3TC and switched to islatravir and doravirine maintained antiviral activity at Week 48 as measured by HIV-1 RNA less than 50 copies/mL similar to Delstrigo, with low rates of protocol defined virologic failure, or PDVF. These latest findings will be made available this week in two oral presentations during the 23rd International AIDS Conference. The primary endpoints and full study design of the Phase 2b Week 48 trial results were originally presented at IAS 2019. of four once-daily oral treatment groups: islatravir 0.25 mg, 0.75 mg or 2.25 mg in combination with doravirine and 3TC compared to Delstrigo. After a minimum of 24 weeks of treatment, participants in the islatravir treatment groups with HIV-1 RNA less than 50 copies/mL who had not met protocol defined virologic failure, or PDVF, criteria were transitioned to a two-drug regimen consisting of the same dose of islatravir plus doravirine, without 3TC. Through Week 48, a lower rate of drug-related adverse events, or AE, occurred in the islatravir groups compared with the Delstrigo group. From Week 0-48, similar rates of drug-related adverse events were observed across all islatravir groups, with no dose-dependent difference in the safety profile of islatravir. Drug-related adverse events were generally more frequent in the first 24 weeks versus the second 24-week period of the trial for all treatment arms. The most common reported adverse events in the Delstrigo-treated group were diarrhea, bronchitis and syphilis. The most common reported adverse events in the islatravir-treated groups were: 0.25 mg sinusitis, pain in extremity, headache; 0.75 mg diarrhea, nausea, bronchitis, nasopharyngitis, syphilis, vitamin D deficiency; 2.25 mg arthralgia and headache. The majority of all adverse events were mild and did not result in study discontinuation. Two participants in the islatravir-treated dose groups (both 2.25 mg) discontinued due to an AE. One participant in the DELSTRIGO group discontinued due to a serious AE considered to be drug related. In the study, PDVF was defined as viral rebound or non-response; PDVF had to be confirmed by an additional HIV-1 RNA measurement within two weeks. At Week 48, rates of PDVF were low and all participants who discontinued due to PDVF had levels of HIV-1 RNA below the clinically significant level of 200 copies/mL. The observed low-level viremia was comparable to levels detected in other studies of previously untreated patients. At Week 48, 89.7%, 90.0% and 77.4% of randomized participants achieved HIV-1 RNA less than 50 copies/mL in the 0.25, 0.75 and 2.25 mg islatravir groups, respectively, compared to 83.9% with the Delstrigo group. Six participants met the criteria for PDVF: two rebounders each in the 0.25 and 0.75 mg islatravir groups, one non-responder in the 2.25 mg islatravir group, and one rebounder in the Delstrigo group. All confirmatory HIV-1 RNA levels were less than 80 copies/mL and none met criteria for resistance testing less than 400 copies/mL. Despite changing to new regimens, three of six participants continued to have low-level viremia with HIV-1 RNA less than 200 copies/mL during the 42-day post-discontinuation assessment. Separately, new findings from a post-hoc analysis of the Phase 3 DRIVE-SHIFT trial evaluating a switch to Delstrigo show that weight changes among participants switching to Delstrigo were similar to the average change observed in HIV negative adults in the U.S.1,2 Weight gains after switch to Delstrigo were 1.4 kg in the Immediate Switch Group and 1.2 kg in the Delayed Switch Group after 2 years on doravirine/3TC/TDF. The DRIVE-SHIFT trial results were first presented at IDWeek 2018.

06:40 EDT Fortuna to temporarily suspend operations at Caylloma Mine after death - Fortuna Silver Mines announced the sudden death of a 34-year old contractor's employee at the Caylloma Mine, located in the province of Arequipa, on July 5. The cause of death has not been determined at this time. In accordance with the company's health protocols approved by the Ministerio de Salud, or MINSA, the individual had completed a health check, including COVID-19 rapid diagnostic testing, which was negative for COVID-19. The company and the contractor are working closely with authorities, who have initiated an investigation into this unfortunate incident. Fortuna aligned with recent Peruvian government Sanitary Emergency provisions for Arequipa, the company has decided to voluntarily suspend operations for a period of approximately two weeks at the Caylloma Mine. The company will use this time to, among other things, sanitize and disinfect the mine site. A reduced task force will remain on site to safeguard critical infrastructure, care and maintenance, and environmental monitoring. The company is initiating the demobilization of its on-site personnel.

06:35 EDT Emergent enters five-year agreement with Janssen for Ad26.COV2-S manufacturing - Emergent BioSolutions (EBS) announced a five-year manufacturing services agreement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), for large-scale drug substance manufacturing for Johnson & Johnson's investigational SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, Ad26.COV2-S, recombinant based on the AdVac technology. Emergent will provide contract development and manufacturing, or CDMO, services to produce drug substance at large scale over five years, valued at approximately $480M for the first two years. Under the agreement, Emergent will begin providing large-scale drug substance manufacturing for Johnson & Johnson's adenovirus-based COVID-19 vaccine in 2021, upon successful completion of the activities under the previously executed technology transfer agreement. For the subsequent years beginning 2023, Emergent will provide a flexible capacity deployment model to support additional drug substance batches annually. This long-term large-scale manufacturing agreement follows and is incremental to the contract announced in April for drug substance manufacturing technology transfer services and for reserving certain large-scale manufacturing capacity to pave the way for commercial drug substance manufacturing for the COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Activities will be performed at Emergent's Baltimore Bayview facility, designed for rapid manufacturing of large quantities of vaccines and treatments during public health emergencies. Emergent's Bayview facility has capabilities across four independent suites to produce at clinical scale to get candidates rapidly into the clinic, while at the same time scaling up to enable large-scale manufacturing to up to 4000L to prepare for production of commercial volumes to meet customer demand. The CIADM has the capacity to produce tens to hundreds of millions of doses of vaccine on an annual basis, based upon the platform technology being used. The company will provide an update to its 2020 financial outlook incorporating expectations related to this agreement and any other relevant information when it reports its Q2 financial results.

06:28 EDT Ford reports Q1 China sales down 34.9% y/y to 88,770 vehicles - Ford and its joint ventures, Changan Ford, JMC and Ford Lio-Ho, sold 88,770 vehicles in Greater China in the first quarter. Amid an unprecedented business slow down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ford's quarterly sales declined 34.9% year-over-year but fared slightly better than the industry. Ford's market share in China grew to 2.2% and was aided by increased digital marketing, safe and timely resumption of dealer operations, and customer-focused care programs that ensured strong engagement and sales recovery from mid-February. The resumption of sales and service operations at all Ford and Lincoln dealerships in China enabled a strong sales recovery in March when 40,707 vehicles were sold, accounting for approximately 46% of first quarter sales and achieving 75% of monthly sales levels reached during March 2019, Ford said in a statement.

06:15 EDT Applied Therapeutics says anonymous 'short report' is 'fraudulent' - Applied Therapeutics announced that it has uncovered fraudulent attempts to manipulate the Applied Therapeutics stock. Applied Therapeutics said in a release, "On July 1, a fraudulent 'short report,' was posted on an online platform from an untraceable and anonymous source. Immediately following, individuals believed to have taken short positions in Applied Therapeutics' stock shared the report on social media. The report includes fabricated graphs and fraudulent data which it falsely attributes to Applied Therapeutics for the apparent purpose of manipulating the company's stock price. Applied Therapeutics will work with law enforcement and regulators to ensure that this criminal activity is prosecuted. The company has hired Reed Brodsky of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, a former federal prosecutor at the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, to assist in this matter. Applied Therapeutics stands behind its data and high-quality, innovative development programs, and reinforces its commitment to value creation for investors through technology advancement."

06:11 EDT Mesoblast says EAP initiated in U.S. for remestemcel-L for treatment of MIS-C - Mesoblast announced that an expanded access protocol, or EAP, has been initiated in the United States for compassionate use of its allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell, or MSC, product candidate remestemcel-L in the treatment of COVID-19 infected children with cardiovascular and other complications of multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or MIS-C. Mesoblast said in a release, "Patients aged between two months and 17 years may receive one or two doses of remestemcel-L within five days of referral under the EAP. The protocol was filed with the FDA and provides physicians with access to remestemcel-L for an intermediate-size patient population1 under Mesoblast's existing Investigational New Drug, or IND, application. According to the FDA, expanded access is a potential pathway for a patient with an immediately life-threatening condition or serious disease or condition to gain access to an investigational medical product for treatment outside of clinical trials when no comparable or satisfactory alternative therapy options are available. MIS-C is a life-threatening complication of COVID-19 in otherwise healthy children and adolescents that includes massive simultaneous inflammation of multiple critical organs and their vasculature. In approximately 50% of cases this inflammation is associated with significant cardiovascular complications that directly involve heart muscle and may result in decreased cardiac function. In addition, the virus can result in dilation of coronary arteries with unknown future consequences. Recent articles from Europe and the United States have described this disease in detail."

06:07 EDT AirNet Technology receives Nasdaq letter of noncompliance - AirNet Technology, formerly known as AirMedia Group, announced that it received a notification letter dated July 2 from the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market notifying that the Company is no longer in compliance with the Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) for continued listing due to its failure to timely file its annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2019 (the "Annual Report") with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. AirNet said in a release, "Under the Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(2)(F)(i), the Company has until August 31 to submit to Nasdaq a plan to regain compliance with the Nasdaq Listing Rules. The Company intends to submit the Compliance Plan as soon as practicable. Under the Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(2)(F)(ii), if Nasdaq accepts the Compliance Plan, Nasdaq can grant the Company an exception until December 28 to regain compliance. The Company's independent registered public accounting firm will require additional time to conduct an audit of the Company's financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019. The Company intends to file the Annual Report as soon as practicable. The Deficiency Letter has no immediate impact on the listing of the Company's ordinary shares represented by American depositary shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market."

06:05 EDT Yintech Investment retains financial advisor, U.S. legal counsel - Yintech Investment announced that the special committee of the Company's board has retained Duff & Phelps, LLC as its financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis as its U.S. legal counsel in connection with its review and evaluation of the previously announced non-binding "going private" proposal from Mr. Wenbin Chen, co-founder, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Yintech, Mr. Ming Yan, co-founder and director of Yintech, and Ms. Ningfeng Chen, co-founder and director of Yintech that the Board received on June 22.

05:52 EDT Kaixin Auto receives Nasdaq notice of noncompliance - Kaixin Auto Holdings announced it has received a notice from Nasdaq on July 2, stating that, as a result of not having timely filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2019, Kaixin is not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1), which requires timely filing of periodic financial reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Kaixin said in a release, "The Company is required by Nasdaq to submit its plan to regain compliance no later than August 31, 2020. If the plan is accepted by Nasdaq, the Company can be granted up to 180 calendar days from the Form 20-F's due date, or until December 28, to regain compliance. On June 12, the Company filed a notification of inability to timely file Form 20-F on Form 12b-25 due to the Company's need for additional time to finalize Form 20-F due the logistical challenges associated with the COVID-19 outbreak. Kaixin continues to work diligently to complete the Form 20-F and strives to file it with the Commission as soon as reasonably practicable. The Company expects to file its Form 20-F by July 10."

05:46 EDT JinkoSolar to supply 126 MW of modules for utility PV project in Chile - JinkoSolar announced that it will supply 126 MW of solar modules for the expansion of an existing 160 MW solar PV park in Chile. JinkoSolar said in a release, "The local contractor recently announced the 126 MW expansion of an existing 160 MW PV park located in the Antofagasta Region. The existing PV plant has been in operation since 2016 and already has 668,160 JinkoSolar panels installed which generate 400 GWh per year. The expansion will add an additional 315,900 JinkoSolar bifacial modules. Once the expansion is complete and begins operations, the PV plant will have a total of 984,060 JinkoSolar photovoltaic panels consisting of both monofacial and bifacial modules that are able to generate 789 GWh per year."

05:39 EDT Boohoo says Jaswal Fashions not declared supplier after report - Boohoo said in a statement, "This week a number of serious allegations have been made about the treatment of people working in the garment industry in Leicester. As one of a number of retailers that source products in the area, boohoo wants to reiterate that it does not and will not condone any incidence of mistreatment of employees and of non-compliance with our strict supplier code of conduct. Boohoo remains committed to supporting UK manufacturing and is determined to drive up standards where this is required. Where help and support for improvement is required we have and will continue to provide it, to ensure that everyone working to produce clothing in Leicester is properly remunerated, at least the National Minimum Wage, fairly treated and safe at work. However, we will not hesitate to immediately terminate relationships with any supplier who is found not to be acting within both the letter and spirit of our supplier code of conduct. This includes very clear expectations on transparency about second tier suppliers. We are grateful to the Sunday Times for highlighting the conditions at Jaswal Fashions, which, if they are as described by the undercover reporter, are totally unacceptable and fall woefully short of any standards acceptable in any workplace. Our investigations have shown that Jaswal Fashions is not a declared supplier, and is no longer trading as a garment manufacturer. It therefore appears that a different company is using Jaswal's former premises and we are currently trying to establish the identity of this company. We are taking immediate action to thoroughly investigate how our garments were in their hands, and we will ensure that our suppliers immediately cease working with this company."

05:19 EDT Endologix commences voluntary Chapter 11 process