Stockwinners Market Radar for July 30, 2020 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:23 EDT MoneyGram sees 'sustained EBITDA growth' if trends persist - The company states: "As a result of continuing economic uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company is not providing a specific third quarter outlook. However, if revenue trends remain in their current range, then the Company would anticipate sustained Adjusted EBITDA growth in the third quarter."

19:42 EDT Greenhill & Co. CEO buys 148.6K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Greenhill & Co disclosed that its CEO Scott Bok bought 148.6K shares of common stock on July 28th-30th in a total transaction size of $10.6M.

19:11 EDT Denbury Resources petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization - The company states: "Denbury Resources announced it has taken the next step to implement its "pre-packaged" plan to eliminate the Company's $2.1 billion of bond debt, consistent with the terms of its previously announced Restructuring Support Agreement. As announced on July 29, 2020, Denbury entered into an RSA with funded debtholders holding 100% of the Company's revolving credit facility loans, approximately 67.2% of its second lien notes and approximately 70.8% of its convertible notes. As contemplated by the RSA, Denbury and its subsidiaries have voluntarily filed petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Denbury expects to continue normal course operations throughout the Court-supervised process. Pursuant to their commitment letter, the Company's existing lenders are providing a debtor-in-possession revolving loan that will "roll" into an exit facility with up to $615 million in availability. Upon Court approval, this new financing and the cash generated from Denbury's ongoing operations are expected to be sufficient to support the business during the Court-supervised process."

18:56 EDT Facebook COO says company doesn't 'benefit from hate speech' - Says will keep working hard at combating hate speech "because it's the right thing to do," not just because it's better for business. Says continues to work closely with civil rights organizations on many improvements company is trying to make.

18:37 EDT Keurig Dr Pepper CEO: Our whole strategy is about household penetration - In an interview on CNBC's Mad Money, Bob Gamgort said more than 10% of KDP's sales are now coming from e-commerce and the trend is accelerating. "The ginger ale segment is on fire and we have the majority of it," he noted. "Our portfolio of brands is delivering for us."

18:15 EDT Facebook COO says company 'pioneer' in using AI to combat hate speech

18:10 EDT Amazon.com expects higher marketing spend in Q3 - Seeing strong International demand with higher Prime usage and larger average basket sizes. Says does not expect to return to 1-day delivery in the "short run," but will get there eventually.

17:54 EDT Apple says COVID-19 vaccine would boost consumer confidence

17:42 EDT Amazon.com saw continued high Prime member engagement during Q2 - Says plans to add "significant" fulfillment capacity in 2H20. Expects majority of new capacity to come on line in late Q3 and into Q4. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

17:36 EDT Franchise Group CEO buys 400K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Franchise Group disclosed that its CEO Brian Kahn bought 400K shares of common stock on July 30th in a total transaction size of $9.3M.

17:34 EDT GlaxoSmithKline awarded $342M Army contract to procure COVID-19 vaccines - GlaxoSmithKline was awarded a $342M firm-fixed-price contract to procure mass quantities of COVID-19 vaccines from multiple vendors to support military locations and personnel throughout the continental U.S. and outside the continental U.S. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, with an estimated completion date of February 28, 2021. FY20 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $342M were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command is the contracting activity.

17:29 EDT Ford sees adjusted EBIT loss for FY20 - Says performed well in difficult environment. Says reservations for Bronco have surpassed even the most optimistic expectations. Says 150,000 reservations for Bronco. Says working to increase annual Bronco production. Says mid-way through plan to invest $11.5B on electric vehicles. Says 10% of wholesale sales are from some form of electrification. Says Ranger pickup truck gained share. Says China posted its second consecutive quarter of share gain. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

17:24 EDT Apple says customer response to new Macbooks 'extremely strong' - Says customer response to new Macbooks "extremely strong." Says achieved record June quarter revenue for retail thanks to online purchases. Says set record in all major regions and all major categories in online sales.

17:18 EDT Apple CEO 'profoundly optimistic' about company's future - Says "profoundly optimistic" about company's future. Says 22M viewers watched Apple Developer Conference. Says demand for all products improved in May and June. Says installed base of active devices reached all-time high in all segments and all categories.

17:10 EDT Apple CEO says Q3 sales bolstered by strong iPhone SE launch, stimulus - Says strong iPhone SE launch and economic stimulus helped bolster sales in the quarter. Says sales also bolstered by some lifting of shelter-in-place practices around the world. Says has achieved goal of doubling 2016 services revenue six months ahead of schedule. Comments taken from Q3 earnings conference call.

17:00 EDT Domino's Pizza names Art D'Elia chief marketing officer - Domino's Pizza announced the promotion of Art D'Elia to executive vice president, chief marketing officer. In this expanded role, D'Elia will run all global marketing initiatives for the brand, leading all U.S. marketing and advertising, and working with the brand's master franchise companies around the world. D'Elia will report to Russell Weiner, chief operating officer and president, Domino's U.S. D'Elia joined Domino's in 2018 as senior vice president, chief brand and innovation officer, leading the Company's U.S. product development and innovation, national TV advertising, and field marketing efforts. Earlier this year, he gained responsibilities for the brand's digital marketing efforts.

16:59 EDT Frequency Electronics awarded $18.98M precision oscillators contract - Frequency Electronics announced the selection of its precision oscillators for a national security satellite program. The oscillators will provide the primary frequency reference for the communications payload and will be delivered to the prime contractor for integration into the satellite and ultimate delivery to the US government. The contract value is $18.98M, with a period of performance of approximately six years, inclusive of all options.

16:57 EDT electroCore gives update on gammaCore Sapphire amid Emergency Use Authorization - electroCore announced more information about availability, distribution and pricing for gammaCore Sapphire CV non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation, nVNS, therapy under its Emergency Use Authorization, EUA. The EUA allows for the use of gammaCore Sapphire(TM) CV at home or in a healthcare setting to acutely treat adult patients with known or suspected COVID-19 who are experiencing exacerbation of asthma-related dyspnea and reduced airflow, and for whom approved drug therapies are not tolerated or provide insufficient symptom relief. "We are pleased to be ready to make gammaCore Sapphire CV available to treat people with known or suspected COVID-19 who are experiencing exacerbation of asthma-related breathing difficulty," said Dan Goldberger, Chief Executive Officer of electroCore. "Our goal is to make this process as simple as possible for all of the patients, physicians and hospitals that would like to use gammaCore Sapphire CV, and we have engaged Premier Pharmacy Services, a national specialty pharmacy, to support its distribution." Stephen Samuel, Chief Executive Officer of Premier Pharmacy Services, stated, "At Premier, our mission every day is to help our patients manage complex diseases, and we are pleased to partner with electroCore to offer gammaCore Sapphire CV therapy to COVID-19 patients in need."

16:54 EDT Guardant, Radius collaborate to develop companion diagnostic for elacestrant - Guardant Health (GH) announced a strategic collaboration with Radius Health (RDUS) to pursue regulatory approval of the Guardant360 CDx as a companion diagnostic for elacestrant, RAD1901, an investigational selective estrogen receptor degrader, SERD, being studied in the treatment of advanced ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer resistant to CDK4/6 inhibitors in combination with hormone therapy. The phase III clinical trial, EMERALD, is currently underway to assess the efficacy of elacestrant versus standard of care endocrine therapy in the overall population, as well as in patients who have been comprehensively genotyped using the Guardant360 test and harbor ESR1 mutations. Radius recently signed a global exclusive development and commercialization licensing agreement with Menarini Group for elacestrant. Radius will continue to conduct and complete the ongoing EMERALD trial through U.S. Food and Drug Administration New Drug Application filing. "Given breast cancer's inherent tumor heterogeneity and the high prevalence of bone metastasis in advanced disease, our Guardant360 liquid biopsy can help overcome the challenges of tissue and bone biopsies to reveal significantly more actionable mutations, including ESR1 mutations, which may play a role in resistance and which are being studied in Radius' EMERALD trial," said AmirAli Talasaz, Ph.D., Guardant Health President. "For patients with CDK4/6 resistant tumors, for whom few other treatment options exist, potential therapies such as elacestrant may represent a promising option."

16:50 EDT Trecora Resources receives ~$2.5M of proceeds from partial AMAK share sale - Trecora Resources provided an update on its previously announced Al Masane Al Kobra Mining Co. share sale. On July 28, Trecora received proceeds of approximately $2.5M in connection with the sale of a 1M share portion of Trecora's overall ownership in AMAK. Following this transaction, Trecora's ownership percentage in AMAK has been reduced from 28.3% to 27.0%.

16:49 EDT Alphabet CFO says advertising revenue gradually improved throughout quarter - Says saw gradual improvement in the quarter across each geographic region. Says FX resulted in about 2% headwinds to reported revenue. Says data center costs and content acquisition costs in YouTube TV and paid subscription services most pronounced. Says headcount growth was the largest source of increase in R&D and SG&A. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

16:47 EDT Cabot Oil & Gas sees Q3 production 2,400-2,450 Mmcfe per day - Cabot has provided its third quarter 2020 production guidance range of 2,400 to 2,450 Mmcfe per day, resulting in the reaffirmation of the company's full-year 2020 production guidance range of 2,350 to 2,375 Mmcfe per day based on a capital program of $575 million. "Despite our expectation for the 2020 average NYMEX price to be the lowest on record since 1995, we expect our capital program for the year to be fully funded within cash flow and to generate enough free cash flow to cover the majority of our dividend," said Dinges. "While we do not plan to provide our official 2021 guidance until early next year, based on a 2021 NYMEX price assumption of $2.75 per MMbtu, which is roughly in line with the current NYMEX futures, we can deliver similar production volumes as 2020 from a modestly lower maintenance capital program, while generating a free cash flow yield1 of approximately eight percent and a ROCE between 19 and 20 percent. Our prioritization for the deployment of our free cash flow in 2021 is funding our regular quarterly dividend, repayment of our 2021 debt maturities, and additional opportunistic returns of capital to shareholders."

16:45 EDT Facebook rises 6.4% after Q2 results

16:44 EDT Expedia: July 'roughly in line with June'

16:44 EDT Lyft announces partnership with SIXT rental car company - Following the success of Lyft Rentals in California, Lyft is bringing its car rental experience to more travelers across the U.S. through a new partnership with SIXT rent a car, which has more than 280,000 premium vehicles worldwide. Starting this August, Lyft riders in Seattle, Las Vegas, and Miami will be able to rent a SIXT car through the Rentals tab in the Lyft app. Following this three-city launch, Lyft plans to expand to all cities within the SIXT rental network in the U.S. in the coming months.

16:43 EDT Select Medical announces $500M share repurchase program - The board of directors of Select Medical has authorized a common stock repurchase program to repurchase up to $500M worth of shares of its common stock. The program has been extended until December 31, 2020, and will remain in effect until then, unless further extended or earlier terminated by the board of directors.

16:40 EDT Jack in the Box CFO Lance Tucker to resign - Jack in the Box announced that Lance Tucker, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has provided his intent to resign and will be leaving the company effective within the next six weeks. The company has initiated a search for a new Chief Financial Officer. While the company searches to identify a successor, the senior members of the company's finance department will assume Tucker's responsibilities on an interim basis. Dawn Hooper, the company's controller, has been appointed to principal financial officer effective on Tucker's last day. Hooper has been with Jack in the Box Inc. for almost 20 years, with her tenure in leadership positions within finance. She, in conjunction with Sean Bogue, the company's treasurer, will ensure a smooth transition. Hooper will report to Darin Harris, CEO, until Tucker's successor is named. Tucker has been with Jack in the Box Inc. for over two years and was paramount in implementing the company's securitization.

16:37 EDT Apple tops $400 for first time, up 5% to $405.73 after Q3 beat

16:36 EDT FDA approves Genentech's Tecentriq plus cotellic, zelboraf to treat melanoma - Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Tecentriq plus Cotellic and Zelboraf for the treatment of BRAF V600 mutation-positive advanced melanoma patients. The safety profile observed in the Tecentriq combination was consistent with the known safety profiles of the individual medicines. The supplemental Biologics License Application for Tecentriq was granted under Priority Review. The review was also conducted under Project Orbis, an initiative of the FDA Oncology Center of Excellence that provides a framework for concurrent submission and review of oncology products among international partners.

16:35 EDT Apple Q3 Wearables, Home, Accessories sales $6.45B vs. $5.53B last year

16:34 EDT Apple reports Q3 Mac revenue $7.08B vs. $5.82B last year

16:34 EDT Apple reports Q3 Services sales $13.16B vs. $11.46B last year

16:33 EDT JMP Securities names Mark Lehmann CEO - JMP Group announced management changes, including the resignation of Carter Mack from his position as president of the company and the promotion of Mark Lehmann to the role of chief executive officer of JMP Securities, the company's primary operating subsidiary. Additionally, Thomas Wright has been named chief operating officer of JMP Securities, while managing directors Jonathan Dever and Gavin Slader have been named co-heads of investment banking and have joined JMP Group's executive committee. Carter Mack, formerly president of JMP Group and a member of the company's executive committee, has stepped down from his position. He will remain a member of the company's board of directors. Mack is a co-founder of JMP Group, forming the company with partners Joe Jolson and Jerry Tuttle in April 1999 and celebrating its initial public offering in May 2007. During his tenure, Mack helped chart the strategic direction for a highly successful investment banking franchise, setting an example as an accomplished advisor to corporate clients. Mark Lehmann becomes chief executive officer of JMP Securities. He was previously president of JMP Securities and continues as a member of JMP Group's executive committee and its board of directors. Prior to joining JMP Group in 2003, Lehmann served both as the global director of institutional sales and as the global director of equity research at Banc of America Securities after working as an institutional salesperson at the firm and its predecessor, Montgomery Securities. Lehmann holds a JD degree from the New York University School of Law and an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois. He is a certified public accountant. Thomas Wright becomes chief operating officer of JMP Securities. He continues as the firm's director of equities and a member of JMP Group's executive committee. Before joining JMP Group in 2013, Wright served as global head of trading at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. He previously held a variety of management positions at Merrill Lynch & Co., most recently as head of European equity trading and sales trading and formerly as head of U.S. equity trading and sales trading. Wright holds an MBA degree from New York University Stern School of Business and an undergraduate degree from Boston College.

16:31 EDT Apple board approves four-for-one stock split - Apple said its board approved a four-for-one stock split "to make the stock more accessible to a broader base of investors." Each Apple shareholder of record at the close of business on August 24 will receive three additional shares for every share held on the record date, and trading will begin on a split-adjusted basis on August 31.

16:29 EDT Power Integrations announces 2:1 stock split, dividend increase - The company announced a 2:1 stock split in the form of a stock dividend of one share of common stock per outstanding share. The additional shares will be distributed on August 18, 2020 to stockholders of record as of August 14, 2020. The split will double the number of outstanding common shares; common shares and per-share data in this press release have not been adjusted for the impact of the split. Power Integrations paid a cash dividend of 21c per share on June 30, 2020. Following the stock split, the company will pay a dividend of 11c per share on September 30, 2020 to stockholders of record as of August 31, 2020.

16:28 EDT Manning & Napier reports Q2 non-GAAP EPS 8c, one estimate 3c - Reports Q2 revenue $30.3M, one estimate $29M. AUM") at June 30 were $18.6B vs. $17.1B at March 31. CEO Marc Mayer commented, "Facing volatile markets and a challenging economic environment, we are pleased to report another quarter of strong performance for clients, where our active investment strategies enabled us to transition from defense to offense and fully participate in the market's historic rally, building on our already strong absolute and relative results. Our improved investment execution is an important though not conclusive step towards stabilizing and ultimately improving net flows and profitability. It is complemented by our strategic initiatives in investments, distribution, IT, and expense management, which continue to lay the groundwork for what we believe will be long-term success for all of our stakeholders."

16:26 EDT Altice USA sees growth in FY20 revenue, adj. EBITDA - Sees FY20 capex below $1.3B.

16:23 EDT Expedia reports Q2 room night growth down 81% - Reports Q2 Gross Bookings down 90% at $2.71B and adj. EBITDA ($436M) vs. $568M last year.

16:22 EDT Alphabet CFO says 'gradual improvement in ads business' seen throughout Q2 - "In the second quarter our total revenues were $38.3B, driven by gradual improvement in our ads business and strong growth in Google Cloud and Other Revenues," said Ruth Porat, Chief Financial Officer of Alphabet and Google. "We continue to navigate through a difficult global economic environment."

16:21 EDT Alphabet CEO says 'helping our partners provide important services' - "We're working to help people, businesses and communities in these uncertain times," said Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer of Google and Alphabet. "As people increasingly turn to online services, our platforms - from Cloud to Google Play to YouTube - are helping our partners provide important services and support their businesses."

16:15 EDT El Pollo Loco reports Q2 comparable restaurant sales down 9.7% - System-wide comparable restaurant sales decreased 9.7%, including an 8.5% decrease for company-operated restaurants, and a 10.6% decrease for franchised restaurants.

16:13 EDT Ford sees adjusted EBIT loss in Q4 - The company said its initial outlook for Q4, which features three significant product launches delayed by the coronavirus shutdown earlier this year, is an adjusted EBIT loss. That reflects normal effects on volumes from downtime, changeover and ramp up for the all-new F-150, together with continued lower overall industry units. Wholesales of Mustang Mach-E and Bronco Sport, which will also start shipping to customers in the fourth quarter, will not have a material effect on the company's Q4 results. Fourth-quarter profits at Ford Credit are anticipated to be lower than in the prior year. For full-year 2020, Ford expects an adjusted EBIT loss.

16:11 EDT Amazon.com says online grocery sales tripled in Q2 vs. last year - Amazon said it increased grocery delivery capacity by over 160% and tripled grocery pickup locations to support customers during COVID-19. Online grocery sales tripled in Q2 when compared with the same period last year.

16:09 EDT Shake Shack says experienced gradual improvement in Q2 and Q3 to date - The Company states: "The company has experienced gradual improvement in the business during the second quarter of 2020, and third quarter to date. The speed of the Company's recovery has differed depending on the location of its Shacks, with those Shacks concentrated in urban areas, such as New York City, most impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Urban Shacks represent approximately half the Shacks in the comparable base, yet accounted for approximately 60% of its same-Shack sales prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. During the second quarter of 2020, same-Shack sales in the Company's urban Shacks were down 57% and suburban Shacks were down 38% compared to the same period last year. Subsequent to the second quarter of 2020, in fiscal July 2020, same-Shack sales in the Company's urban Shacks were down 50% and suburban Shacks were down 24% compared to the same period last year. As of July 22, approximately 95% of domestic company-operated Shacks are open. As in-Shack ordering has increased over recent weeks, digital sales mix has continued to shift. During the second quarter total digital sales represented 75% of total Shack sales and more than doubled compared to the first quarter of 2020. The Company's native web and app channels more than tripled compared to the same period last year, and when combined, continued to be the fastest growing channels throughout Q2 and into July. For fiscal July, digital sales represented 62% of total Shack sales, retaining over 90% of the digital sales that were achieved during fiscal May even as in-Shack sales have gradually returned. In addition, the Company has welcomed over 800,000 first time purchasers via its own digital channels since early March, which is nearly four times higher than in the same period last year. The Company expects digital channels to remain a significant component of sales and ongoing growth."

16:08 EDT Facebook sees 2020 expenses $52B-$55B, narrowed from prior $52B-$56B view

16:07 EDT Facebook reports Q2 monthly active users 2.7B at June 30 - DAUs were 1.79 billion on average for June 2020, an increase of 12% year-over-year. MAUs were 2.70 billion as of June 30, 2020, an increase of 12% year-over-year. DAP was 2.47 billion on average for June 2020, an increase of 15% year-over-year. MAP was 3.14 billion as of June 30, 2020, an increase of 14% year-over-year.

16:07 EDT Goosehead Insurance, Goosehead Financial declare special dividends - Goosehead Insurance announced that Goosehead Financial declared a special cash dividend of $42M payable in cash on August 24 to holders of LLC Units of record, including Goosehead Insurance, as of the close of business on August 10. In addition, Goosehead Insurance announced that its board declared a special cash dividend of an estimated $1.15 per share on the company's Class A common stock. The dividend will be payable in cash on August 24 to holders of the Class A common stock of record as of the close of business on August 10.

16:04 EDT Seattle Genetics sees FY20 Adcetris net product sales $675M-$700M - Sees FY20 Padcev net product sales $215M-$235M. Sees FY20 royalty revenues $105M-$115M.

15:38 EDT Google posts teaser for Pixel 4a event - Reference Link

15:29 EDT LabCorp working on no-charge test program to speed COVID blood plasma donatation - LabCorp announced plans to create a program to offer total antibody testing at no charge through the patient's doctor in support of increased blood plasma donations for use as a possible COVID-19 treatment. "LabCorp is proud to be part of The Fight Is In Us coalition to increase donations of blood plasma with COVID-19 antibodies. Blood plasma is being evaluated as a possible treatment for patients with an active COVID-19 infection. Public health authorities have asked for help with expanding the population of potential plasma donors, and LabCorp is seeking to meet that challenge by creating a program to offer total antibody testing at no charge through the patient's doctor. Patients who are interested in donating blood plasma can speak with their doctor about the total antibody testing program during their next routine visit or treatment. LabCorp is currently working with public health authorities and the provider community on the details of the three-month program and will provide additional information in the near future," the company stated.

15:16 EDT CN reports over 30 MMT of grain moved across Canada during 2019-2020 crop year - CN filed and published its 2020-2021 Grain Plan, announcing that it set a new record by moving over 30 million metric tonnes of grain from across Canada during the 2019-2020 crop year. CN also announced that it is prepared to move up to 7,600 bulk and processed hopper cars per week outside of winter, and up to 6,100 per week during winter in the upcoming crop year. During the 2019-2020 crop year, over 28.2 MMT of grain moved from Western Canada as well as over 1.1 MMT moved through intermodal containers. "Although we achieved our best grain movement volumes in 2019-2020, we are far from complacent. As an essential transportation service to the economy, to our customers, supply chain partners, and to the communities we serve, we remain committed to continue making capacity-enhancing investments to our network and to upgrade our rolling stock, including the purchase of 1,500 additional railcars manufactured in North America in 2020-2021. With all those, we are on our way to reach continuously improved performances. These investments benefit our grain customers as well as all those from the other sectors we serve. CN recognizes that the Grain Plan has been a helpful initiative to increase supply chain performance and keep everyone focused on moving annual crops," said JJ Ruest, President and Chief Executive Officer.

15:08 EDT S&P says Eastman Kodak rating unchanged on government loan - S&P Global Ratings noted that on July 28, the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. announced that it would sign a letter of interest to provide a $765M loan to a subsidiary of Eastman Kodak Co. to help support the launch of Kodak Pharmaceuticals, which will produce critical pharmaceutical components domestically and will be a stand-alone entity that is 100% owned by the parent, Eastman Kodak. "This announcement does not change our rating or outlook on Eastman Kodak, which continues to be primarily based on persistent revenue declines and negative cash flow in the company's core commercial printing business. We expect this transaction will have minimal impact to the company's cash flows/financial profile over the near term as the letter of intent is nonbinding and the terms of the loans are still being negotiated (initial terms of the loan include a 25-year duration). We believe that Kodak Pharmaceuticals will be able to deploy the loan proceeds only for this project and Kodak will not be able to use the proceeds to address its sizable upcoming maturities. Nevertheless, we believe that if Kodak were able to use this opportunity to build a profitable pharmaceutical chemicals business, this could improve the company's business risk profile through greater diversity and exposure to end markets with better growth prospects. Our negative outlook continues to be based on a view that Eastman Kodak may have difficulties meeting its upcoming debt and preferred stock obligations in November 2021," S&P announced.

15:05 EDT PROS trading halted, news pending

14:13 EDT CMS Energy reports purchase of 51% ownership stake in Aviator Wind project - CMS Energy announced it has purchased a majority stake in Aviator Wind, a 525-megawatt wind energy project in Texas that "will support efforts by Facebook and McDonald's to achieve their clean energy goals." The project will start operations by fall 2020 in Coke County, about 250 miles southwest of Dallas. Aviator Wind will be operated by CMS Enterprises, a subsidiary of CMS Energy that develops, owns and operates utility-scale renewable energy facilities, including wind and solar. CMS Enterprises purchased the project's majority stake from funds managed by Ares Management Corporation's Infrastructure and Power strategy, which constructed and managed the project. Kansai Electric Power is the project's other major partner.

13:28 EDT Delta Air Lines expands change-fee waivers through 2020 - Delta Air Lines announced in post to its news hub that, effective July 30, it is extending its change-fee waiver to new flights purchased through August 31; offering the ability to rebook travel for up to two years for customers who purchased flights prior to April 17 that are pending travel through the end of year; and implementing automatic seat blocks through at least September 30, which will automatically block seats adjacent to those selected by a customer once a reservation is complete and allow parties of three or more to book seats together, including middle seats. Reference Link

12:50 EDT Valaris says restructuring through bankruptcy likely imminent - Valaris disclosed this morning in its quarterly filing, "We are actively pursuing a variety of transactions and cost-cutting measures, including, but not limited to, further reductions in corporate overhead and discretionary expenditures, another potential waiver from lenders under, or amendment to, our revolving credit facility, another potential forbearance from holders of our senior notes, further reductions in capital expenditures and increased focus on operational efficiencies. We are also actively negotiating with certain holders of our senior notes and the lenders under our revolving credit facility regarding a comprehensive restructuring of our indebtedness. While there can be no assurances as to ultimate timing, we expect our restructuring is likely to be implemented imminently through cases under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and that our restructuring may result in cancellation of existing equity interests and little or no recovery to existing shareholders...The consolidated financial statements do not reflect any adjustments that might be necessary should we be unable to continue as a going concern. We will continue to evaluate our going concern assessment in connection with future periodic reports." Shares of Valaris are down 7% to 59c in midday trading.

12:37 EDT Vornado cuts quarterly dividend to 53c from 66c on 'changing environment' - Vornado Realty Trust announced that "in recognition of the uncertain and rapidly changing environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," its board has declared a decreased quarterly dividend of 53c per share, an annual dividend rate of $2.12. The decrease is consistent with Vornado's policy of paying out 100% of taxable income, it added. The dividend will be payable on August 21 to shareholders of record on August 10.

12:16 EDT American Axle supplies electric drive unit for new Baojun E300 Plus in China - American Axle & Manufacturing's Electric Drive technology powers the all-electric Baojun E300 Plus from SAIC-GM-Wuling. The new 4-seat minicar went on sale recently in China.The E300 Plus is powered by a 40 kW Electric Drive Unit manufactured at Liuzhou AAM Automotive Driveline System Co., Ltd. in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility located in the state-level economic development zone of East Liuzhou, in the Guangxi Province."This is AAM's third Electric Drive program, our first in China and our first on a compact, value-brand small passenger car," said David C. Dauch, AAM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We will continue to see global electric vehicle demand and will support this growth with our compact, quiet and efficient drive technology." Electric Drive by AAM is a suite of innovative electric propulsion solutions suitable for all hybrid and battery electric vehicle segments from value-oriented mini vehicles to high-performance luxury crossovers. The systems leverage AAM's extensive experience in the design, analysis and processing of geared mechanical systems to engineer compact, quiet and efficient drive units that meet the most

12:01 EDT Ra Medical Systems Inc trading resumes

11:19 EDT Coca-Cola to offer Topo Chico Hard Seltzer in Latin America later this year - Coca-Cola Company said it "is committed to exploring new products in dynamic beverage categories, including hard seltzer." The company announced that Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, an "experimental drink inspired by Topo Chicosparkling mineral water," will be offered inselectcities in Latin America later this year."We will share more details closer to launch," the company noted. Reference Link

11:15 EDT Oil States sees Q3 net interest expense $4M, D&A expense $25M - Sees FY20 CapEx approximately $15M, down about 70% vs. 2019. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

10:53 EDT Beyond Meat competitor Impossible debuts 'flagship product' at Walmart - Impossible Foods announced that its "flagship product" will begin rolling out today at Walmart (WMT). "The award-winning, plant-based Impossible Burger will start hitting Walmart store shelves today and will soon be stocked in nearly 2,100 Walmart Supercenter and Walmart Neighborhood Market locations. Customers can find Impossible Burger in the fresh meat section of the store in convenient, versatile 12-ounce packages. Impossible Burger is also available through Walmart Grocery Pickup & Delivery. With the addition of Walmart locations, Impossible Burger will be available in more than 8,000 brick-and-mortar grocery stores across all 50 states -- a more than 50X increase of Impossible Foods' retail footprint since March 2020," the alternative protein maker announced in a press release. Shares of Beyond Meat (BYND), which competes with Impossible in the plant-based foods space, are down 2% to $123.84 in morning trading.

10:33 EDT Cleveland-Cliffs 2H20 free cash flow 'probably' around $50M-$100M - During the Q&A portion of the Cleveland-Cliffs Q2 earnings conference call, an analyst asked management if they could expand on the 2H20 free cash flow guidance, providing $50M-$100M as a suggested range. Cleveland-Cliffs CFO Keith Koci said they weren't going to provide an exact range but the analyst was "probably right" with the $50M-$100M range.

10:23 EDT Cleveland-Cliffs CFO says Q2 was 'anomaly' - Cliffs' Chairman, President, and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said, "over the past few months, the company has shown its resilience as I have spoken about in the past." Goncalves added, the pandemic made the car-buying market into "a consumer-driven market." Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

10:03 EDT CURE Pharmaceutical to acquire Sera Labs in $20M transaction - Privately held Sera Labs announced that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding for a 100% acquisition by CURE Pharmaceutical for a total up-front consideration of $20M, comprising $19M in CURE stock at a valuation of $2.75 per share, and $1M in cash, with an initial, additional commitment of $4M for working capital in support of accelerating Sera Labs' growth. The transaction also includes the potential for an earn out of up to $20M in CURE stock at a valuation of $3.34 per share within two years of the closing of the acquisition, contingent upon Sera Labs achieving certain key financial targets. The structure of the earn out is designed to align risk and reward between CURE stockholders and Sera Labs' management, with a focus on strong operational alignment and financial execution. The transaction is expected to close, subject to a definitive agreement and customary closing conditions, by the fourth quarter of 2020. Sera Labs was founded in 2018. Net sales for the most recent quarter ended June 30, 2020, totaled $1.8M, reflecting a steep sales growth trajectory and early strong reception for its novel products across the CBD-based beauty, health & wellness, and pet product markets. The increase in sales, as projected for the third and fourth quarters and beyond, is subject to this agreement's new infusion of capital, and attributable to newly signed distribution agreements, the acceptance of additional retailers for CBD, and the explosive growth of Sera Labs' digital opt-in subscription model, which is just beginning to show rapid growth in line with internal projections.

10:00 EDT Garrett Motion falls -13.1% - Garrett Motion is down -13.1%, or -93c to $6.16.

10:00 EDT Eastman Kodak rises 23.0% - Eastman Kodak is up 23.0%, or $7.63 to $40.83.

10:00 EDT At Home Group rises 35.1% - At Home Group is up 35.1%, or $3.31 to $12.75.

09:51 EDT Kellogg sees net sales growth slowing in 2H - Sees prolonged softness in away from home channels.

09:47 EDT NewMarket falls -9.7% - NewMarket is down -9.7%, or -$40.34 to $376.70.

09:47 EDT New Home Company falls -10.8% - New Home Company is down -10.8%, or -51c to $4.23.

09:47 EDT Eastman Kodak rises 19.7% - Eastman Kodak is up 19.7%, or $6.54 to $39.74.

09:42 EDT Kellogg sees 2H profit weighted down by investment shift from 1H

09:39 EDT Kellogg has had no major supply disruptions in the face of higher demand

09:33 EDT Atossa announces findings from Expanded Access treatment with Endoxifen - Atossa Therapeutics announces interim findings following 18 months of an Expanded Access single-patient study of Atossa's Endoxifen. To date, the patient has not had a recurrence of breast cancer, as assessed by clinical breast examination and mammography; has not had treatment-related changes in periodic laboratory blood tests and general clinical examinations; and the treatment has been well tolerated, including an absence of typically seen vasomotor symptoms. The study results show that treatment with Atossa's proprietary Endoxifen for 20 days prior to unilateral mastectomy and for 18 months after surgery as an adjuvant did not lead to vasomotor symptoms commonly associated with tamoxifen, an FDA-approved drug frequently prescribed for breast cancer treatment. Endoxifen did not cause other safety and tolerability concerns in this patient. The percentage of cells expressing ER+ or Ki-67 decreased from the initial biopsy to the biopsy on the day of surgery; plasma Endoxifen reached the potential therapeutic level by day 6; and steady state Endoxifen was maintained through day 20 prior to surgery. Atossa plans to publish a manuscript of the case study. "Pre-menopausal breast cancer patients have very limited treatment options," commented Steve Quay, Ph.D., M.D., Atossa's President and CEO. "They are often reluctant to take tamoxifen because most patients experience hot flashes and night sweats. Moreover, many patients, including the patient here, lack the proper liver enzymes to metabolize tamoxifen so they may not receive a therapeutic benefit. We look forward to continuing enrollment in our Phase 2 study in this 'window of opportunity' setting and to continuing to follow this patient's progress."

09:29 EDT Ra Medical Systems Inc trading halted, news pending

09:26 EDT MasterCard saw improvement in spending levels in first three weeks of July - Saw improvement in spending levels in the first three weeks of July relative to June and Q2.

09:25 EDT MasterCard sees operating expenses down low single digits in Q3

09:19 EDT AB InBev says remains committed to deleveraging - Says continues to gain share across most markets. Says emerging markets expected to drive future growth. Says "well-positioned" for strong recovery, but remains cautious near-term. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

09:18 EDT UPS says B2B volume down 22% in Q2, down approximately 9% in July

09:17 EDT Kandi Technologies announces Aug. 18 event to kick off EV pre-sales - Kandi Technologies Group announced the formal launch of the the Kandi K27 and K23 models. The cars will be sold by Kandi America, the trade name of Kandi's wholly owned subsidiary SC Autosports, LLC. Sales will initially focus on the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. To support the launch, Kandi is unveiling a marketing campaign entitled "Kandi. Auto EVolution for all" that centers around a live virtual launch event on August 18 to kick-off pre-sales. Customers can reserve their models K27 or K23 EVs with a fully-refundable $100 deposit, which will be available for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2020. The virtual launch will take place at 10 a.m. CST on August 18. Participants will engage in a meaningful experience hosted by a surprise emcee, including an exclusive look at the sleek design and advanced technology features of models K27 and K23. Kandi will also conduct a live drawing, with the lucky winner receiving a model K23. To be eligible for the giveaway, participants must register for the event before midnight CST on August 17. Priced at $12,999 after federal tax credits, the K27 is a compact model with ample interior space that can comfortably accommodate up to four passengers. The car features a 17.69 kWh Lithium battery and a driving range up to 100 miles, making it an ideal automobile for urban driving.

09:15 EDT Marimed expands product offerings in Heritage flower brand - MariMed announced that it will roll out an expanded line of products derived from its Nature's Heritage premium flower brand during the second half of 2020. The products will have an updated new design, reinforcing attributes of the strains and the brand. Launched in February 2020 in Massachusetts and in Q1 2018 in Maryland, Nature's Heritage has quickly become one of the top-selling and most sought-after flower brands in both these state markets. As a result of this success, MariMed will introduce a new variety of products under the Nature's Heritage brand, including concentrates, a variety of RSO products, vaporizers, and pre-rolls, in the second half of 2020. These products have been developed as enhanced delivery methods rooted in consumer research, market demand, and sales trends Nature's Heritage flower is curated, cultivated, and harvested using proprietary processes developed by MariMed. Curation and cultivation are the core of the brand, guided by a data-driven approach to continually improve each cannabis strain. MariMed's cultivation and formulation teams utilize their years of experience to produce top shelf cannabis flowers and infuse formulations from those flowers into new and innovative cannabis products. This MariMed team will continue to drive innovation and market leadership for the Nature's Heritage brand.

09:14 EDT American States Water raises Q3 dividend to 33.5c per share from 30.5c per share - American States Water said in a release, "On July 28, the Board of American States Water approved an increase in the company's third quarter cash dividend from $0.305 per share to $0.335 per share on the common shares of the company. The annualized dividend rate after this increase is $1.34 per share, which represents nearly a 10% increase from the current annualized dividend rate of $1.22 per share. This action marks the 337th consecutive dividend payment by the company. American States Water Company has paid dividends every year since 1931, increasing the dividends received by shareholders each calendar year for 66 consecutive years, which places it in an exclusive group of companies on the New York Stock Exchange that have achieved that result. The company's current policy is to achieve a compound annual growth rate in the dividend of more than 7% over the long-term."

09:12 EDT TFF Pharmaceuticals completes dosing for Voriconazole Inhalation Powder trial - TFF Pharmaceuticals announced that the last subject in the multiple ascending dose, or MAD, portion of its Phase 1 clinical trial of Voriconazole Inhalation Powder completed their last clinic visit, following repeated dosing. Voriconazole Inhalation Powder is a direct-to-lung, inhaled dry powder version of Voriconazole, generally considered to be the most effective antifungal drug for treating Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis, or IPA. The company reports that repeated doses of up to 80 mg/dose twice daily for seven days in healthy normal volunteers was well tolerated. This completes the clinical portion of the Phase 1 trial with both single ascending dose, or SAD, and MAD phases with 32 healthy subjects enrolled in each part to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic profile of Voriconazole Inhalation Powder. Previously, TFF released topline data from the single ascending dose portion of the study and showed that single doses of 80 mg were safe.

09:11 EDT Probe Metals, Midland enter JV agreement on Detour Gaudet-Fenelon project - Probe Metals announced that it has entered into a joint venture agreement with Midland Exploration on the Detour Gaudet-Fenelon Project. Under the terms of the Agreement, Probe and Midland will each have a 50% participating interest in the JV Project. The JV Project includes 226 claims and covers a surface area of 125 square kilometres. This includes 65 claims covering 37 square kilometres from Probe's Detour Fenelon-Nantel property and 161 claims covering 88 square kilometres from Midland's Gaudet and Samson properties located east and southwest of Probe's Fenelon-Nantel property. The Project is contiguous with Probe's Detour Quebec 100% owned project and its consolidated package, which now stands at 1,330 claims representing 724 square kilometres along the prolific and highly prospective Detour Gold Belt. Probe will remain the operator and each party will be responsible for funding its proportionate share of expenditures on the JV Project. The Gaudet-Fenelon JV Project consists of 35 km long strategic land position along the Lower Detour Gold Trend located 4 kilometres south of the Fenelon and Tabasco gold deposits. Historically, limited drilling and geophysics has been done on the JV Project. In the recent years, Midland and Probe have been actively consolidating the land and performing modern geophysics in some parts of the JV property. Exploration highlights on Probe's Fenelon-Nantel section of the JV property include historical drilling grading up to 11.4 over 0.6 metre and identification of several Induced Polarisation anomalies targets along magnetic structures within the LDGT. On Midland's Gaudet property of the JV, following the completion of a high-resolution airborne magnetic survey, a structural domain similar to the Fenelon gold-bearing structural setting was identified. The intersection of this structural domain with the LDGT, represents an area of interest on the JV property spanning 25 square kilometres with very good exploration potential. In the short term, the ongoing exploration work by Probe and Midland will continue under the JV agreement in order to define new drilling targets within the high-priority area located south of the Fenelon and Tabasco deposits and the Reaper discovery, both held by Wallbridge An IP survey totalling more than 40 kilometres is scheduled to begin shortly in order to define new drilling targets within the high-priority area.

09:09 EDT Sonos, Lenbrook reach confidential settlement in patent infringement case - Sonos and Lenbrook Industries announced they have reached a confidential settlement in Sonos' patent infringement lawsuit against Lenbrook Industries, and Lenbrook America, which sell the Bluesound high-resolution multizone audio systems. As part of this settlement, Lenbrook Industries will pay royalties for a license to Sonos' patents for all BluOS enabled devices.

09:06 EDT PayPal, Venmo to introduce QR code technology in CVS Pharmacy stores - PayPal Holdings (PYPL) announced that CVS Pharmacy (CVS) will be the first national retailer to integrate PayPal and Venmo QR code technology in its checkout experience at all of its 8,200 standalone stores across the country. Through PayPal's partnership with payments technology company InComm, shoppers will be able to securely pay for their items without needing to touch a keypad or sign a receipt. PayPal and Venmo QR codes will roll out to CVS Pharmacies nationwide in the fourth quarter of 2020.

09:04 EDT Royal Caribbean Cruises changes name to Royal Caribbean Group - Royal Caribbean Cruises is now known by a new moniker: Royal Caribbean Group. "The name is simpler, fresher and more modern. It's also more descriptive-Royal Caribbean Group sounds like a parent company name, reflective of our growth and evolution since we last updated our identity more than 20 years ago," said Royal Caribbean Group chairman and CEO Richard Fain. The company's flagship cruise line brands - Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Silversea, Azamara, TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises - are all now proud members of Royal Caribbean Group. Royal Caribbean Group's logo has also been updated. The company's iconic crown and anchor emblem has been sharpened and made more symmetrical, and now resides inside a circle at all times.

08:55 EDT Taoping upgrades Taoping Smart Cloud Platform - Taoping announced that it has upgraded its Taoping Smart Cloud Platform and put it on the market. The upgraded Taoping Smart Cloud Platform has optimized the performance of ad publishing, data monitoring, publication management, transaction system, and API interface docking. On the one hand, it further strengthens users' operating experience in Internet advertising, online site selection, data monitoring, online transactions, etc. On the other hand, Taoping Smart Cloud Platform provides a shared resource pool that can be flexibly assigned and expanded for all users. The resource pool integrates media resources and advertisers in an all-round and multi-channel manner, and uses the centralized management and control of the platform and intelligent operation and maintenance to effectively configure and use resources to achieve a win-win situation for all parties.

08:53 EDT UPS says cash flow 'remains strong' - Sees FY20 CapEx $5.6B.

08:53 EDT Capital Power raises dividend 6.8% to C$0.5125 per share - The Board of Directors for Capital Power Corporation declared a dividend of C$0.5125 per share on the outstanding common shares for the quarter ending September 30, 2020. The dividend is payable on October 30, 2020 to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 30, 2020. The quarterly dividend of C$0.5125 per common share compared to the previous C$0.48 dividend represents a 6.8% increase, and an annualized dividend of C$2.05 per common share.

08:52 EDT P&G sees organic sales growth stronger in 1H21, will moderate in 2H

08:51 EDT Durham, NC selects BIO-key's PortalGuard - BIO-key International announced that the municipality of Durham, North Carolina has selected BIO-key's PortalGuard solution to meet the city's IAM requirements and provide needed cybersecurity controls. After reviewing potential solutions, Durham chose PortalGuard to enhance the city's security posture to combat the ever-changing threat environment.

08:48 EDT Muscle Maker opens first of five delivery-only ghost kitchens in Chicago - Muscle Maker announced that it has opened its first delivery-only ghost kitchen in the Chicago market. Located at 3517 N. Spaulding Ave the kitchen will showcase menus from Muscle Maker Grill, Healthy Joe's and Muscle Maker Grill's new Meal Plan concept - Meal Plan AF. Guests can order healthier for you dishes from any of the three concepts through third party delivery platforms providing ease of ordering and the option for contactless delivery. Ordering platforms include: DoorDash, GrubHub, UberEats, Postmates, ChowNow and Caviar. As the demand for delivery increases due to social distancing, many restaurant concepts are looking toward ghost kitchens to expand quickly while meeting the growing need for fast options. The new Spaulding delivery-only ghost kitchen is the first to open and is part of a ten-location agreement signed by the brand earlier this year. Locations two, three and four are under construction and will also open in Chicago throughout the summer. The brand is zeroing in on a few key metropolitan markets for the remaining five locations in the agreement.

08:44 EDT Procter & Gamble ecommerce organic sales up 40% in FY20 - P&G says its ecommerce organic sales were up 40% in FY20 and are now over $7B in annual sales, or about 10% of total sales.

08:42 EDT UPS says goal is to 'become better, not bigger' - Plans to focus on optimizing the network. Says "committed" to the dividend, investment grade credit rating. Says outside of five core principles, everything "under review." Sees "gradual" economic recovery which will be "difficult to predict." Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

08:41 EDT O3 Mining intersects 12.8 g/t Au over 1.1 meters - O3 Mining is pleased to provide new drilling results from the East Cadillac Property in Val D'Or, Quebec, as part of its well-funded 150,000 metre drilling program. Current drilling on the East Cadillac property is focused on the North Contact zone, which continues to show continuity laterally and at depth. The North Contact zone is located along the northern splay of the Cadillac Larder-Lake Fault (CLLF), which can be traced over 6 kilometres within the property. It consists of stacked mineralized lenses located at or near the sheared contact of small units of mafic volcanic rocks with the surrounding wacke. The summer campaign consists of follow-up holes at 100 metre spacing to expand the known mineralization at the North Contact. The company has completed 6,300 metres of drilling in fifteen drill holes on the North Contact, and three more holes remain to be completed. These drill holes have been drilled 100 metres below and east of drill hole O3EC-20-007, which returned 3.1 g/t Au over 7.0 metres including 4.6 g/t Au over 2.9 metres, and including 5.3 g/t Au over 1.5 metres from the winter campaign this year. Assay results from eight drill holes are pending. All drill holes intersected the North Contact structure thus demonstrating its continuity over 700 meters laterally and 500 meters vertically. The zone remains open in all directions. The company remains focused on strategically investing in its drilling capabilities at its properties as they reach different stages of development such as; mine development, resource development, and advanced exploration.Drilling at the North Contact will resume in the winter following freezing conditions. The winter campaign will focus on the eastern extension of the North Contact zone with higher gold grades expected as a major NNW-SSE structure is approached to the east. The winter campaign will also target the extensions of the high-grade zones intersected during the winter 2020 campaign in holes O3EC-20-020 and O3EC-20-023. O3EC-20-032 intersected three mineralized lenses. The northernmost lens returned 17.8 g/t Au over 1.1 metres associated with an interval consisting of 30% quartz-tourmaline-calcite veinlets and disseminated arsenopyrite and pyrite, related to a graphitic fault within andesite. O3EC-20-030 intersected three mineralized lenses. The first northernmost lens returned 3.1 g/t Au over 3.6 metres associated with a strong tourmaline altered andesite consisting of 30% quartz veins and veinlets with 3% disseminated arsenopyrite. The southernmost lens yielded 1.7 g/t Au over 10.3 metres. This interval consists of 30% quartz veins and veinlets with tourmalinized selvages associated with disseminated arsenopyrite, pyrite, and pyrrhotite within a basalt. The whole interval has been cross-cut by late ankerite veinlets associated with the brecciation of the quartz veins and veinlets. Visible gold is associated with the quartz veining.

08:40 EDT Pacific Drilling discloses contract for ten firm wells in fleet status report - Pacific Drilling disclosed in a regulatory filing that the company posted to its website its updated Fleet Status Report dated July 29. For the Pacific Khamsin a "previous third firm well with Equinor was cancelled for a termination fee," the report states. For the Pacific Sharav, the company reported a contract for ten firm wells with an estimated duration of approximately 450 days. "The contract provides for five option wells at a market based rate. Previous contract with Murphy Mexico for two firm wells was cancelled for a termination fee," the report states. For the Pacific Meltem, the rig is "mobilizing to Las Palmas," the report states. In pre-market trading, Pacific Drilling shares are up 3c, or 6%, to 48c.

08:35 EDT ReTo Eco-Solutions signs additional equipment contracts for RMB3M - ReTo Eco-Solutions is promoting its proprietary equipment sales through an expansion of its operation and maintenance business. The company recently signed additional equipment contracts in the aggregate amount of RMB3M with customers in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province and Jinan City, Shandong Province.

08:35 EDT Evelo Biosciences announces upcoming key milestones - Upcoming Key Milestones: EDP1815: Data from Phase 2 trial in COVID-19 in 4Q 2020. Interim safety data and futility analysis from Phase 2/3 TACTIC-E trial in 4Q 2020. Data from Phase 1b trial in atopic dermatitis in 1Q 2021. Interim data from Phase 2 trial in moderate psoriasis by mid-2021. EDP1867: Data from Phase 1b trial in atopic dermatitis in mid-2021. EDP1503: Additional data from Phase 1/2 trial in TNBC in 4Q 2020.

08:33 EDT DavidsTea to reopen 18 Canadian stores, exit 82 remaining Canadian stores - DAVIDsTEA announces that as part of its restructuring plan under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, it plans to reopen 18 stores in Canada under new, more favourable lease terms and conditions. DAVIDsTEA expects to reopen the 18 stores by the end of August 2020, conditional upon entering into amended leases for the stores. The 18 DAVIDsTEA stores to be reopened are all located in major shopping malls. Seven of the stores are in Quebec, five are in Ontario, with the balance in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and New Brunswick. The proposed new lease terms are expected to give DAVIDsTEA termination rights at the end of 2020, and the flexibility of an option to extend the leases. The Company is sending notices to terminate leases for its other 82 stores, which terminations will take effect in 30 days. The Company will continue to provide updates throughout the CCAA restructuring process as events warrant.

08:29 EDT Merry maids, 3M collaborate to provide enhanced cleaning services - Merry Maids, a ServiceMaster (SERV) company and 3M (MMM) announced they are collaborating to provide enhanced cleaning in the homes of Merry Maids customers by combining the research, development and testing capabilities of the experts in cleaning and the experts in cleaning science. Merry Maids team members spend more than 6M hours in customers' homes each year and are the experts in providing clean and healthy environments. With this new collaboration, they can now leverage the 3M brand's advanced cleaning products and proprietary cleaning techniques in the process. Merry Maids and 3M spent over 500 hours researching products and solutions to bring 3M cleaning science into the homes of Merry Maids customers across the country. Merry Maids and 3M continued to work together during the COVID-19 global pandemic to offer cleaning and disinfection services using 3M disinfectant. 3M offered virtual training on disinfecting products to ensure consistent protocols were followed across the country. Additionally, the Merry Maids network incorporated the cleaning and disinfection protocols to clean and disinfect all equipment after each home cleaning to protect the health and safety of customers and team members. Merry Maids now uses more than a dozen 3M products in the homes of Merry Maids customers. Merry Maids team members across 480 franchise locations receive specific training on products from a team at 3M. Each Merry Maids location has direct hotline access to 3M technical support to quickly get answers to questions about products and their usage.

08:24 EDT Annexon appoints Michael Overdorf as CBO - Annexon announced the appointment of Michael Overdorf as Chief Business Officer. Overdorf brings nearly 20 years of industry experience to Annexon. Prior to joining he spent 19 years at Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) in various executive leadership roles, most recently in Corporate Business Development, a position he held for the last two years.

08:22 EDT CHF Solutions annouces distribution agreement for Israel, Palestine - CHF Solutions announced the signing of a distribution agreement with SysteMedic Ltd., covering Israel and Palestine, representing the second distribution partnership in the Middle East region. Ultrafiltration therapy is now available in 16 countries outside the U.S. Ninety percent of hospitalizations among heart failure patients are due to signs and symptoms of fluid overload, and approximately two percent of the Israeli population suffers from heart failure. The Aquadex SmartFlow System is a simple, flexible and smart fluid management platform using ultrafiltration to stabilize patients experiencing fluid overload, giving providers the ability to manage their patients' fluid balance with precision, control and ease.

08:21 EDT M&T Bank appoints Francesco Lagutaine Chief Marketing and Communications Officer - M&T Bank has appointed Francesco Lagutaine as Senior VP and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, effective August 17. Lagutaine most recently served as Hong Kong-based Chief Marketing and Experience Design Officer for Manulife, where he was responsible for brand and marketing management, data analytics, customer experience design, digital and product marketing. Prior to that he served as Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Customer Franchise at Citibank Asia Pacific.

08:21 EDT Eton Pharmaceuticals submits NDA to FDA for zonisamide oral suspension - Eton Pharmaceuticals announced it has submitted a new drug application for zonisamide oral suspension, previously known as the company's ET-104 product candidate, to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for the treatment of partial seizures in patients with epilepsy. Zonisamide is widely used as a capsule to treat partial seizures, but the molecule is not FDA approved in liquid form. Eton's patent-pending liquid formulation addresses the significant unmet need for patients with dysphagia and patients that require the precision dosing that a liquid product offers. Based on IQVIA data, more than 150,000 prescriptions of zonisamide are written annually for the treatment of epilepsy. ET-104 is one of Eton's three neurology-focused liquid product candidates, along with ET-105 (lamotrigine oral suspension) and ET-101. The company expects all three product candidates to be approved and launched in 2021.

08:18 EDT Xeris Pharmaceuticals announces additional data from Phase 1b XP-0863 study - Xeris Pharmaceuticals announced additional data from the Phase 1b study to evaluate a novel diazepam formulation, or XP-0863, in healthy adult subjects. In April, the company reported preliminary topline results from this study. Complete results from this study were presented at the Fifteenth EILAT Conference on New Antiepileptic Drugs and Devices. These data were also presented to the FDA during a recent end-of-Phase 1 interaction. XP-0863 is a highly concentrated liquid diazepam for intramuscular, or IM, injection that is intended for the treatment of seizure emergencies in patients two years of age, with partial onset or generalized convulsive seizures, who are identified jointly by their caregivers and physicians as suffering intermittent and periodic episodes of markedly increased seizure activity. XP-0863 uses the XeriSol platform technology to overcome the solubility problems associated with diazepam, reduces injection burden, provides comparable pharmacokinetics to diazepam rectal gel and may support the prompt and full-dose drug delivery of diazepam during seizure emergencies. The Phase 1b study was an open-label, weight-based dose, three-treatment, three-way crossover study in healthy adult subjects. This study aimed to investigate the pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability of two different weight-based doses of intramuscular XP-0863 when compared to a weight-based dose of Diastat rectal gel. Subjects were randomly allocated to a sequence of three treatments: XP-0863 IM, XP-0863 IM, or Diastat. The subjects' diazepam blood levels were monitored over 21 days after drug dosing. XP-0863 showed comparable pharmacokinetics to Diastat, with similar partial AUCs of XP 0863 to Diastat early after dosing and with increased overall exposure when compared to Diastat. XP-0863 had comparable Cmax when compared to Diastat. The weight-based doses of XP-0863 were safe and well tolerated, with minimal sedation and injection site reactions, and no serious adverse events occurred. Complete results of the Phase 1b study were shared with the US FDA in an end-of-Phase 1 interaction. The FDA provided feedback that Xeris' drug development program for XP-0863 could advance directly into a Phase 3 registration study in both pediatric and adult patients with epilepsy.

08:17 EDT Patrick Industries CEO provides 2020 outlook - CEO Andy Nemeth said, "Momentum in our RV and marine markets continues to be strong, reflecting the value proposition of outdoor recreation and the ability to spend quality time with family and friends in a COVID and post-COVID environment. In addition, our MH and industrial markets are benefitting from low interest rates, pent up demand for affordable housing, and a tight U.S. housing market. With increased visibility into our four primary end markets, we believe we will have opportunities to quickly pivot and invest strategically in our acquisition pipeline and existing businesses to support the growth of our OEM customers. At the same time, our highest priority remains the safety and well-being of our incredibly talented and dedicated team members, who have been working tirelessly to serve our customers within all of our end markets. Despite the ongoing uncertainty caused by the pandemic, we are optimistic about our business outlook given the trajectory of our end markets and our flexible, highly variable cost structure which, along with our strong liquidity and balance sheet, position us to navigate a variety of economic scenarios with the goal of taking care of our customers and team members at the highest level."

08:13 EDT Titan Medical completes design enhancements to robotic surgical instruments - Titan Medical announced that it has completed design enhancements to instruments compatible for use with its single-port robotic surgical system. As previously disclosed, the company resumed development of instruments for its single-port robotic surgical system in June following the completion of a financing for gross proceeds of $18M.

08:11 EDT Hilton Grand Vacations appoints Carlos Hernandez as chief accounting officer - Hilton Grand Vacations announced the appointment of Carlos Hernandez as senior VP and chief accounting officer. Hernandez will oversee SEC reporting, global accounting operations and related internal controls and technical accounting matters. He has more than 25 years of global finance and accounting experience working with both public and private multinational organizations operating across various industries including hospitality. Prior to joining HGV, Hernandez served as CFO of Holistica Destinations, a joint venture between Royal Caribbean and ITM Group.

08:10 EDT J.Jill announces extended forbearance - J.Jill said in a release, " 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 6. As previously announced, the Company entered into the two Existing Forbearance Agreements, as amended on July 22, with the lenders under its ABL and term loan credit facilities. The Existing Forbearance Agreements are described in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Company with the SEC on June 15, and available on the SEC's Edgar website as well as the Company's website, which includes the full text of the agreement as an exhibit. Under the amendments to the Existing Forbearance Agreements, the respective lenders have agreed not to exercise any rights and remedies until August 6, 2020 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."

08:07 EDT Aytu BioScience receives approval for ZolpiMist from TGA in Australia - Aytu BioScience announced the approval of ZolpiMist by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, or TGA, in Australia. This approval, which was secured by the company's ZolpiMist sublicensee SUDA Pharmaceuticals, enables near-term commercialization of ZolpiMist in Australia. SUDA is a publicly-listed drug delivery company focused on oro-mucosal administration and is headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. With this approval by Australia's TGA, ZolpiMist will be included on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods and can now be commercialized and supplied within Australia. Further, this approval will assist SUDA's current ZolpiMist sublicensees, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Singapore and MTP Korea, in their submissions in their respective territories.

08:03 EDT GrubHub: Strong trends in April persisted throughout quarter - "The strong trends we observed in April persisted throughout the quarter with year-over-year DAG growth accelerating each month," said Adam DeWitt, Grubhub President and CFO. "With that strength continuing in July, it is becoming more clear that the current environment has advanced the secular shift toward online food ordering. We remain confident that focusing on restaurant supply and diner loyalty will enable us to keep growing in a sustainable and profitable manner."

08:02 EDT Lexicon enters into agreement with TerSera for sale of XERMELO - Lexicon Pharmaceuticals and TerSera Therapeutics LLC announced that they have entered into an asset purchase and sale agreement for the sale to TerSera of Lexicon's rights, title and interest in XERMELO. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, TerSera will pay Lexicon approximately $159 million in cash at closing, which includes a $155 million upfront payment and approximately $4 million for existing inventory. Lexicon may receive additional development, regulatory and sales milestone payments of up to an aggregate of $65 million for the development and commercialization of telotristat ethyl in patients with biliary tract cancer. Additionally, Lexicon will be eligible to receive mid-teens royalties on net sales of XERMELO in biliary tract cancer. As part of the transaction, TerSera has agreed to assume the currently ongoing TELE-ABC Phase 2 clinical study of XERMELO in biliary tract cancer patients and offer employment to at least 20 Lexicon employees currently dedicated to XERMELO. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2020, subject to customary closing conditions.

07:58 EDT Genocea to present preliminary data on GEN-009 with checkpoint inhibitors - Genocea Biosciences will present initial clinical data on the first five patients from Part B of the ongoing Phase 1/2a study, which explores the combination of Genocea's neoantigen vaccine, GEN-009 and checkpoint inhibitor-based regimens (CPI) in advanced solid tumors. The webcast and presentation will feature Dr. Maura L. Gillison, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center. The trial combines GEN-009 with a Standard of Care CPI-based regimen approximately four months after the SOC CPI-based regimen is started. The preliminary findings from the first five patients show three achieving independent RECIST responses starting from the first GEN-009 dose. These responses show an acceleration of shrinkage beyond that of the CPI regimen, creating a novel response plot that supports the effect being attributable to the addition of GEN-009. One such patient achieved a complete response, while two demonstrated partial responses. Overall, two of the first five patients achieved CRs and three experienced PRs. These results are corroborated by the patients' immune responses. Neoantigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses were detected in 100% of patients, with all patients responding to multiple vaccinated antigens. Early comparison of T cell responses post-checkpoint and post-vaccination show that T cell responses are specific to GEN-009 and not augmented by checkpoint blockade.

07:56 EDT TC Energy announces $0.4B Elwood Power/ANR Horsepower Replacemet Project - TC Energy Corporation announced that it will proceed with the Elwood Power/ANR Horsepower Replacement Project that will replace, upgrade and modernize certain facilities along a highly utilized section of its ANR Pipeline Company natural gas transmission system. Under a long-term agreement, ANR would provide up to 125,000 Dth/d of firm transportation service to an existing power plant. The facilities work includes compression and ancillary upgrades as well as other modifications along ANR's existing infrastructure. The project is targeted to be brought in service in the second half of 2022 with an estimated cost of $0.4 billion.

07:53 EDT Trillium completes safety assessment of 1.4mg/kg cohort in TTI-621 study - Trillium Therapeutics provided an update today on its ongoing phase 1b dose optimization study of TTI-621 in patients with relapsed and/or refractory cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. TTI-621 is an innate immune checkpoint inhibitor targeting CD47, a "don't eat me" signal that cancer cells use to evade destruction by the immune system. TTI-621 Phase 1b Study Update: 15 relapsed/refractory CTCL patients have been enrolled in the first 4 cohorts, and were treated with TTI-621 monotherapy at doses up to 1.4 mg/kg. Dose limiting toxicity evaluation of Cohort 4 has been successfully completed and dose escalation is now continuing at 2.0 mg/kg. Data related to clinical activity, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics are not yet available for the 1.4 mg/kg cohort.Trillium intends to provide an update on its TTI-621 and TTI-622 studies at the American Society for Hematology Annual Meeting in December 2020.

07:50 EDT Goodfood Market launches Flex ordering platform - Goodfood Market is pleased to announce the launch of its new user-friendly ordering interface, Flex. Over 210,000 Goodfood members are already using the new interface, with the remaining clients to be transitioned in the coming weeks.

07:49 EDT Imara granted fast track, rare pediatric disease designations for IMR-687 - IMARA announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Fast Track designation and Rare Pediatric Disease designation for its lead clinical asset, IMR-687, for the treatment of beta-thalassemia. The FDA previously granted Orphan Drug designation for IMR-687 for the treatment of patients with beta-thalassemia and Orphan Drug, Fast Track and Rare Pediatric Disease designations for the treatment of patients with sickle cell disease. Imara recently initiated a Phase 2b clinical trial of IMR-687 in adult patients with beta-thalassemia and expects to dose the first patient in the near-term. Regulatory submissions are underway in 14 countries and screening has initiated for the Phase 2b clinical trial. Imara anticipates initiating pediatric clinical testing in beta-thalassemia after gathering sufficient clinical data in adult patients with beta-thalassemia.

07:47 EDT Valero expects to invest ~$2.1B of capital in 2020 - Valero expects to invest approximately $2.1 billion of capital in 2020, of which approximately 60 percent is for sustaining the business and approximately 40 percent is for growth projects. Approximately 30 percent of Valero's 2020 growth capital is allocated to expanding the renewables business. The new St. Charles Alkylation Unit, which is designed to convert low-value feedstocks into a premium alkylate product, is on track to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year. The Diamond Pipeline expansion and the Pembroke Cogen project are expected to be completed in 2021 and the Port Arthur Coker project is expected to be completed in 2023. Valero and its joint venture partner in DGD continue to pursue growth in the low-carbon renewable fuel business. The DGD plant expansion is expected to be completed in 2021, subject to COVID-19 related delays, and as previously announced, DGD continues to make progress on the advanced engineering and development cost review for a potential new 400 million gallons per day renewable diesel plant at Valero's Port Arthur, Texas facility. If the project is approved, operations are expected to commence in 2024, increasing DGD production capacity to over 1.1 billion gallons annually.

07:46 EDT Valero CEO says 'rapid recovery in demand for refined products' in Q2 - "While the impact of the pandemic and the ensuing global economic downturn so far this year has been significant, we saw a rapid recovery in demand for refined products as we moved through the quarter," said Joe Gorder, Valero Chairman and CEO.

07:43 EDT Spirit AeroSystems announces leadership changes - Spirit AeroSystems announced changes on its Executive Leadership Team. John Pilla, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, and Vic McMullen, Senior Vice President for Global Manufacturing and Boeing Operations, have announced their intent to retire and will move into special advisor roles with the company, effective August 1. To consolidate responsibilities for leading key growth efforts and gain efficiencies across a number of functional areas during this challenging period for the global aviation industry, the following leadership changes are effective immediately. Sam Marnick will serve as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, reporting directly to Gentile. Marnick, who previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Administration Officer, will oversee a number of functional organizations, including Supply Chain Management, Strategy, M&A, Enterprise Risk Management, Research & Technology, Information Technology and Human Resources. In addition, she will lead growth initiatives across a number of key markets for Spirit that include Fabrication, Aftermarket, and Regional and Business Jets. Kevin Matthies will serve as Senior Vice President, Quality and Engineering, reporting directly to Gentile. Matthies most recently served as Senior Vice President of Quality and will expand his responsibilities to include Product and Factory Support Engineering. Also, he will lead the company's Global Manufacturing Excellence initiative and Global Safety Council.

07:42 EDT Northrop Grumman raises FY20 free cash flow view to $3.15B-$3.55B - Prior view was $3.15B-$3.45B.

07:38 EDT Northrop Grumman reports Q2 total backlog increases to $70B

07:35 EDT IntercontinentalExchange reports Q2 Data & Listings revenue $685M - Reports Q2 Trading & Clearing revenue $710M.

07:32 EDT Flotek names Michael Borton as CFO, effective August 3 - Flotek Industries is pleased to welcome Michael Borton as CFO, effective August 3. He will report directly to John Gibson, Jr., Flotek's Chairman, President, and CEO. Borton joins Flotek from Dynasty Sports and Entertainment, a sports and entertainment data and analytics technology company.

07:31 EDT Endurance to acquire Retention Science for $35M - Retention Science is located in Santa Monica, California. Under the terms of the definitive merger agreement, Endurance will acquire Retention Science for approximately $35.0 million, consisting of $17.5 million to be paid in cash upon close and the remaining $17.5 million to be paid in a combination of deferred consideration and earnouts over the next three years. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close on or before August 15, 2020.

07:26 EDT New Gold sees 2020 total production 415K-455K gold eq. ounces - Sees 2020 gold production 284K-304K ounces.

07:20 EDT Gildan Activewear reduces manufacturing workforce by 6,000 employees - The company said, "COVID-related impacts and Back to Basics initiatives We continued to manage and align our operations and inventory levels with the demand environment and kept the majority of our production facilities idle or operating at low levels of capacity during the second quarter. Consequently, approximately $86 million of manufacturing labour and overhead costs were expensed as period costs in the quarter. These cash and non-cash costs would have normally been absorbed into inventory if our facilities had been running at normal levels. In order to further lower our cost structure, we reduced our overall manufacturing workforce by an additional 6,000 employees, adjusting to the current demand environment. We also reduced our SG&A workforce by approximately 380 employees and announced the closure of a smaller specialty yarn-spinning operation in the U.S. during the quarter. We recorded restructuring charges of $29 million in the quarter primarily related to these cost reduction actions which we currently expect will generate $46 million of cost reduction savings on an annual go forward basis. Due to lower projected production requirements for 2020, we unwound excess commodity derivative hedge positions and marked to market excess cotton commitments with merchants resulting in a total charge of $24.6 million reflected in cost of sales. We incurred inventory charges of approximately $56 million in total related to imprintables and retail inventory in the quarter. $14 million was due to the decline in the net realizable value of certain retail end-of-line products due to the current market environment. $26 million was related to our imprintables SKU rationalization initiative and $16 million was related to retail product-line inventory management as part of our Back to Basics strategy. In June, in order to drive market share in the imprintables channel, the Company announced and implemented certain promotional programs in the US providing discounts to distributors based on their June sell-through of our products to screenprinters. We subsequently announced the extension of these promotional incentives through July and August, and consequently, we recorded a sales discount accrual that reduced sales in the quarter by $24.6 million for the expected discounts to be earned by distributors on the future sell-through of their inventory held at the end of the second quarter. Finally, in June, we negotiated a 12-month covenant amendment to our existing credit agreements providing increased financial flexibility through the first quarter of 2021 as the Company continues to navigate through this global pandemic. During the covenant relief period, our leverage covenant will exclude the financial results for the second quarter of 2020 from the ratio calculation. For the purpose of the net leverage ratio covenant, last twelve months EBITDA will be based on the last three quarters preceding the date at which the ratio is calculated converted to an annualized four quarter number. Further, the net leverage ratio covenant has been increased to various maximum levels ranging from 3.5 to 4.5 for each quarter within the covenant relief period and 3.5 thereafter. Additional information on the covenant amendment can be found in our MD&A and financial statements for the three and six months ended June 28, 2020. Overall as a result of these actions and COVID-19-related impacts, we reported a GAAP loss of $1.26 per share and an adjusted loss of $0.99 per share in the second quarter. The GAAP loss reflects the impact of the decline in revenue combined with the impact of the total $224 million of charges, including $131 million of COVID-19-related charges and $93 million in accelerated Back to Basics initiatives. Despite this large loss, due to the combination of tight working capital and capex management we generated $177 million of free cash flow in the quarter. Net debt at the end of June totaled $987 million and our available liquidity increased to approximately $1.2 billion."

07:18 EDT Nuance expands AI collaboration with Cerner - Nuance Communications (NUAN) announced that it has expanded its long-standing AI collaboration with Cerner (CERN) to include the integration of Nuance's virtual assistant technology into the Cerner Millennium electronic health record. Building upon the existing integration between Nuance's Dragon Medical platform and Cerner Millennium, joint clients can utilize Nuance's advanced natural language virtual assistant technology to navigate the EHR using just their voice, giving clinicians more time to spend with their patients and less time with their computer. Select joint Cerner and Nuance clients can expect to start deploying this integrated virtual assistant technology later this year.

07:16 EDT LiveXLive Media enters linear OTT distribution deal with XUMO - LiveXLive Media announced that it has entered into an agreement with XUMO, a free, ad-supported streaming service, to produce and distribute LiveXLive's linear music channel to over 45M households across the U.S. LiveXLive's 24/7 linear OTT channel will feature its original shows, artist interviews, concerts, festivals, event content, and bite-size content from around the world. The new distribution deal also extends LiveXLive's opportunity to increase its digital advertising revenue.

07:14 EDT Chevron, Algonquin Power agree to co-develop renewable power projects - Chevron U.S.A, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chevron (CVX), and Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) announced an agreement seeking to co-develop renewable power projects that will provide electricity to strategic assets across Chevron's global portfolio. Under the four-year agreement, Chevron plans to generate more than 500 megawatts of its existing and future electricity demand from renewable sources. Initial renewable power projects are expected to be sited on Chevron land and construction is planned to start in 2021. The projects will be focused on powering Chevron's operations in the U.S. Permian Basin, Argentina, Kazakhstan and Western Australia. Projects will be jointly owned and co-developed by both parties. Algonquin will lead the design, development and construction of the projects. Chevron will purchase electricity from the jointly owned projects through power purchase agreements.

07:12 EDT Synthetic Biologics announces FDA clearance of IND application for SYN-020 - Synthetic Biologics announced that it has received a study-may-proceed letter from the U.S. FDA for the first clinical study of SYN-020, an oral formulation of recombinant intestinal alkaline phosphatase. Synthetic Biologics intends to conduct a Phase 1 single ascending dose study in healthy volunteers, designed to evaluate SYN-020 for safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic parameters, during the first quarter of 2021. The Phase 1 clinical program is intended to support the clinical development of SYN-020 in multiple indications, including for the treatment of radiation enteropathy secondary to pelvic cancer therapy.

07:11 EDT Kirby expects 'strong' free cash flow in 2020 - Commenting on the 2020 full year outlook, Mr. Grzebinski said, "In the past quarter, our businesses experienced unprecedented declines in demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, we have seen slight increases in demand across the Company which we believe represent an initial recovery and a bottom to our activity and utilization levels. However, given the risk of future spikes in virus cases and governments issuing new restrictions, the timing and magnitude of a material recovery remains unclear. Until we see a significant improvement in demand, we will continue to aggressively manage our costs, restrain capital spending, and focus on cash generation. Kirby has ample liquidity, and we continue to expect strong free cash flow in 2020 which will be used to repay debt, increase liquidity, and strengthen the balance sheet. In inland marine, although refinery and petrochemical plant utilization rates have started to improve, Kirby expects a slow recovery going forward until economic activity rebounds more significantly. With barge utilization rates starting the third quarter in the mid-70% range, the Company anticipates sequentially lower average barge utilization for the quarter. This is expected to have an adverse impact on revenues and operating margins. Overall, Kirby expects inland revenues and operating income will sequentially decline in the third quarter. In the coastal market, with 85% of revenues under term contracts, much of coastal's business is expected to be stable through the end of the year. The spot market remains challenging, but reduced shipyard maintenance is expected to benefit the third quarter's results. Kirby plans to retire one additional large capacity vessel in the third quarter and expects reduced activity in the coal transportation business for the remainder of the year. Overall, Kirby expects coastal third quarter revenues and operating income will modestly improve sequentially. In distribution and services, activity in the oil and gas market is expected to remain challenged with all major customers curtailing spending for the duration of 2020. Although some operators are starting to bring shut-in wells back on-line and frac activity is modestly improving, Kirby does not expect to see a material improvement in activity in the short-term as many customers have significant excess pressure pumping capacity available for use. In commercial and industrial, although the Company's businesses continue to be adversely impacted by reduced economic activity, there have been some recent improvements in the on-highway and power generation sectors. Fleet miles in the nation's trucking industry are growing, and power generation projects which were previously deferred are being rescheduled for the coming months. Additionally, Kirby expects increased seasonal utilization of the power generation rental fleet and higher activity in the Thermo King refrigeration businesses. As well, the impact of our cost reduction initiatives is expected to be more fully realized in the third quarter. As a result, overall, segment operating margins are expected to improve in the third quarter but remain below breakeven levels. On the balance sheet, as of June 30, 2020, Kirby had approximately $537 million of cash and liquidity available. The Company does not have any scheduled debt maturities until 2023, and there is substantial room available in its bank covenants. Kirby expects 2020 capital spending to be approximately $150 million, representing a year-on-year reduction of approximately 40%. While the Company is committed to regulatory and recurring maintenance on the marine transportation fleet, capital spending is being stringently managed. Overall, Kirby expects to generate net cash provided by operating activities of $400 million to $500 million, with free cash flow of $250 million to $350 million during 2020.

07:11 EDT Yum! Brands reports Q2 worldwide SSS down 15% - Reports Q2 KFC SSS down 21%. Reports Q2 Pizza Hut SSS down 9%. Reports Q2 Taco Bell SSS down 8%.

07:10 EDT Kraft Heinz recorded non-cash goodwill impairment losses of $2.9B in Q2 - "During the second quarter, the company performed its 2020 annual impairment test, which reflected the completion of the Company's enterprise strategy and five-year operating plan. While the company's overall estimated value for the business enterprise has not changed substantially, the recalibration of future investments to align with opportunities for which the company sees greater potential for return has resulted in increases in fair value estimates for certain reporting units and intangible assets, and decreases in others. For those reporting units and intangible assets seeing reductions in fair value estimates to levels less than their carrying amounts, the company recorded non-cash goodwill impairment losses of approximately $1.8B in certain reporting units and non-cash intangible asset impairment losses of approximately $1.1B in certain intangible assets. These impairment charges caused the company to report a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $1.7B and a diluted loss per share of $1.35," Kraft Heinz reported.

07:08 EDT Wex renews contract with Schneider - Wex announced it has renewed its contract with Schneider. Schneider, a provider of transportation and logistics services, has been a customer of Wex EFS since 2012. The relationship has allowed each company to organically focus on growth and innovation.

07:07 EDT Tyson Foods creates chief medical officer position - Tyson Foods has created a chief medical officer position and plans to add almost 200 nurses and administrative support personnel to supplement the more than 400 people currently part of the company's health services team. The additional nurses will conduct the on-site testing and assist with case management, coordinating treatment for team members who contract the virus.

07:06 EDT Wex signs multi-year contract extension with Enterprise Fleet Management - Wex has signed a multi-year contract extension with Enterprise Fleet Management. The agreement between WEX and Enterprise Fleet Management furthers the partnership between the two organizations, which dates back to 1993. Through the extended partnership, Wex will continue to deliver fuel cards to Enterprise Fleet Management customers to help them monitor and control fuel-related activities and expenses.

07:04 EDT Agios Pharmaceuticals sees cash, cash equivalents sufficient through end of 2022 - Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of June 30, 2020 were $794 million, including the amount received under the Royalty Pharma agreement, compared to $624 million as of June 30, 2019. The company expects that its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of June 30, 2020, together with anticipated product revenue, anticipated interest income and anticipated expense reimbursements under our collaboration and license agreements, but excluding any additional program-specific milestone payments, will enable the company to fund its anticipated operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements, including its pivotal development programs for mitapivat in thalassemia and sickle cell disease, through the end of 2022.

07:00 EDT CNX Resources backs FY21 production view 550 Bcfe

06:59 EDT A.O. Smith reports Q2 North America segment sales down 8% to $480.5M - A.O. Smith said in its Q2 earnings release, "Sales of the North America segment were $480.5 million in the second quarter, a decline of approximately eight percent compared with the same period in 2019. Water treatment products' organic growth of approximately 19 percent was more than offset by lower commercial water heater volumes, lower boiler volumes and a water heater sales mix composed of more electric models which have a lower selling price. Segment earnings of $105.4 million were approximately 14 percent lower than segment earnings of $122.9 million in the same quarter of 2019 driven by lower volumes of commercial water heaters, lower volumes of boilers and the mix skew to electric water heaters. Certain costs directly related to the pandemic, including temporarily moving production from Mexico to the U.S., paying employees during temporary plant shutdowns, proactively deep cleaning facilities, paying benefits during employee furloughs and other costs, were $5.5 million in the second quarter. These unfavorable factors more than offset lower steel costs in the quarter compared with last year. As a result, segment margin of 21.9 percent declined compared with 23.5 percent achieved in the same period last year. Adjusted segment earnings of $107.6 million in the current year quarter excluded $2.2 million in pre-tax severance costs resulting in second quarter adjusted segment margin of 22.4 percent."

06:54 EDT Eli Lilly reports Q2 Taltz sales $395.2M vs. $353.8M last year - Eli Lilly said in its Q2 earnings release, "For the second quarter of 2020, worldwide Taltz revenue increased 12 percent compared with the second quarter of 2019, to $395.2 million. U.S. revenue increased 8 percent, to $289.2 million, driven by increased demand, partially offset by lower realized prices. Revenue outside the U.S. increased 24 percent, to $106 million, driven by increased volume, partially offset by lower realized prices."

06:53 EDT Eli Lilly reports Q2 Alimta sales $539.1M vs. $577.8M last year - Eli Lilly said in its Q2 earnings release, "For the second quarter of 2020, worldwide Alimta revenue decreased 7 percent compared with the second quarter of 2019, to $539.1 million. U.S. revenue decreased 7 percent, to $317.2 million, primarily driven by decreased demand, partially offset by higher realized prices. Revenue outside the U.S. decreased 6 percent to $221.9 million, primarily driven by lower realized prices, partially offset by increased volume."

06:52 EDT Sally Beauty says began reopening its stores mid-April - The company began reopening its stores on a rolling basis in mid-April. Store reopenings are triggered by local regulation, the adoption of the company's new COVID-19 related safety protocols involving store cleaning, masks, gloves, limiting customer numbers at one time, and in-store social distancing guidelines, as well as the recall from furlough of sufficient store staff. As of June 30, all stores in the United States, Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom were operational. A small number of stores in Mexico and South America have not yet been cleared to reopen by local authorities.

06:51 EDT AstraZeneca says nirsevimab reduced LRTI in Phase 2b trial - Nirsevimab showed a significant reduction in medically-attended lower respiratory tract infections, or LRTI, and hospitalizations caused by respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, in healthy preterm infants in a positive Phase IIb trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine, AstraZeneca announced. "The trial demonstrated for the first time that a single-dose monoclonal antibody can significantly reduce medically-attended RSV LRTI, including bronchiolitis and pneumonia, in infants throughout the full RSV season," the company said.

06:49 EDT Merck announces two U.S. regulatory milestones for KEYTRUDA - Merck announced that the U.S. FDA has accepted two new supplemental Biologics License Applications for KEYTRUDA, Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy. The FDA has accepted and granted priority review for a new sBLA seeking accelerated approval for KEYTRUDA in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with locally recurrent unresectable or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer whose tumors express PD-L1 based on the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-355 trial. The FDA has set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or target action, date of Nov. 28, 2020. The FDA also accepted for standard review a new sBLA for KEYTRUDA for the treatment of patients with high-risk early-stage TNBC, in combination with chemotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment, and then as a single agent as adjuvant treatment after surgery, based on the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-522 trial. The PDUFA date for this application is March 29, 2021.

06:47 EDT Tempur Sealy won't provide FY guidance until there is more visibility - As previously announced, the company has withdrawn its previously-issued full-year financial guidance for 2020 and will not provide updated full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance until there is more visibility into the worldwide operating environment. Management is targeting third quarter 2020 net sales to increase approximately 25 percent from the same period last year. If the current order trends were to continue and if there are no significant changes in supply chain or manufacturing capacity, it is possible the company's third quarter or fourth quarter financial performance could trigger vesting of the company's long-term aspirational plan resulting in a non-cash charge as outlined in previous regulatory filings.

06:41 EDT Keurig Dr Pepper up 1.8% after reporting Q2 results, backing FY20 adj. EPS view

06:40 EDT Keurig Dr Pepper reports Q2 Beverage Concentrates new sales down 16.5% to $309M - Keurig Dr Pepper said in its Q2 earnings release, "Net sales for the second quarter of 2020 decreased 16.5% to $309 million, compared to $370 million in the year-ago period, reflecting unfavorable volume/mix of 11.4%, lower net price realization of 4.8% and unfavorable foreign currency translation of 0.3%. The volume/mix performance reflected a significant decline to the fountain foodservice business, which services the restaurant and hospitality sectors, due to the shelter-in-place consumer behavior during the quarter. Total shipment volume versus year-ago declined 10.5% in the second quarter of 2020, primarily reflecting the impact of COVID-19 on the fountain foodservice business. Dr Pepper and Crush net sales were the most impacted in the quarter. Bottler case sales decreased approximately 7% in the second quarter of 2020. Operating income decreased 9.8% to $220 million in the second quarter of 2020, compared to $244 million in the year-ago period, reflecting the decline in net sales and modest COVID-19 costs, partially offset by lower discretionary expenses, including marketing. Excluding items affecting comparability, Adjusted operating income decreased 9.8% to $222 million, compared to $246 million in the year-ago period, resulting in Adjusted operating margin increasing 530 basis points versus year-ago to 71.8%. On a constant currency basis, Adjusted operating income declined 9.3%."

06:39 EDT Teleflex announces new workforce reduction plan - The company said, "During the second quarter of 2020, we committed to a workforce reduction designed to improve profitability and reduce cost primarily by streamlining certain sales and marketing functions in our EMEA segment and certain manufacturing operations in our OEM segment. The workforce reduction was initiated to further align the business with our high growth strategic objectives. We estimate that we will incur aggregate pre-tax restructuring charges of $10 million to $13 million, consisting primarily of termination benefits, and will result in future cash outlays. This plan will be substantially complete during 2020 and as a result most of these charges are expected to be incurred prior to the end of 2020. We expect to begin realizing plan-related savings in 2020 and expect to achieve annual pre-tax savings of $11 million to $13 million once the plans are fully implemented."

06:36 EDT Danone not in a position to provide updated FY20 financial guidance - The company said: "Looking into the second-half, business remains difficult to predict as the environment is still volatile and much uncertainty remains about the severity, the duration and the implications of the pandemic as to how exactly macroeconomic conditions, lockdown easing and consumer habits will evolve for the rest of this year. Danone is therefore not in a position to provide an updated financial guidance for fiscal year 2020 at this time."

06:36 EDT Volkswagen's Witter 'cautiously optimistic' on second half of year - Frank Witter, member of the Group Board of Management responsible for Finance and IT, said: "The first half of 2020 was one of the most challenging in the history of our company due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The health of our employees, customers and business partners is still the top priority. With our 100-points plan to ensure maximum health protection, we have, for example, created the best possible prerequisites for a safe working environment. At the same time, we introduced comprehensive measures aimed at reducing costs and securing liquidity early on, which enabled us to limit the impact of the pandemic on our business to a certain degree. Thanks to the great team effort, we have gradually been able to ramp up operations within the Group and up until now, have steadily managed to navigate through this unprecedented crisis. Due to the positive trend exhibited in our business over the past few weeks and the introduction of numerous attractive models, we look cautiously optimistic to the second half of the year."

06:33 EDT Lloyds Banking sees NIM 'broadly stable' for the rest of the year - Net interest margin is expected to remain broadly stable on the second quarter level at c.240 basis points for the rest of the year resulting in a full year margin of c.250 basis points. Operating costs expected to be below GBP 7.6 billion. Impairment expected to be between GBP 4.5 billion and GBP 5.5 billion. Risk-weighted assets expected to be flat to modestly up compared to the first half of 2020.

06:25 EDT Crescent Point Energy confirms quarterly dividend of C$0.0025 per share - Crescent Point Energy announces its board has declared a quarterly cash dividend of C$0.0025 per share to be paid on October 1, for shareholders of record on September 15.

06:22 EDT Mimecast acquires Message Control - Mimecast has acquired eTorch d/b/a MessageControl, a messaging security provider with solutions designed to help stop social engineering and human identity attacks with the use of machine learning technology. The acquisition of MessageControl strengthens Mimecast's Email Security 3.0 strategy that is designed to improve cybersecurity. The combination of Mimecast and MessageControl is engineered to provide customers using productivity apps, such as Microsoft 365(R), stronger protection against advanced phishing and impersonation attacks. The addition of MessageControl brings the capability of machine learning identification of anomalous behaviors. The acquisition of MessageControl is not expected to have a material financial impact to Mimecast's FY21 revenue or Adjusted EBITDA.

06:21 EDT Armada Hoffler reinstates cash dividend on common shares - Armada Hoffler Properties announced that its Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of 11c per common share and Operating Partnership unit for the third quarter. The third quarter dividend will be paid in cash on October 8 to stockholders of record on September 30.

06:21 EDT DuPont reports Q2 Safety & Construction net sales down 7% to $1.2B - DuPont said in its Q2 earnings release, "Safety & Construction reported net sales of $1.2 billion, down 7 percent from the year-ago period. Organic sales were down 8 percent with a 2 percent price improvement offset by a 10 percent decline in volume. Recent acquisitions in the Water Solutions business increased reported sales by 2 percent. Currency was a 1 percent headwind. Demand for Tyvek protective garments continued to be robust, leading to a greater than 60 percent increase in garment sales versus last year which was enabled by efforts to increase capacity and redirect supply from non-personal protection markets. Despite the strength in Tyvek protective garments, sales in the Safety Solutions business declined as demand weakened across industrial, aerospace, and oil & gas markets as a result of COVID-19. Similarly, Shelter Solutions sales declined as construction activity was impacted by stay-at-home orders issued across the globe. Water Solutions continued to see broad-based demand strength across desalination, wastewater, and specialty markets leading to double-digit organic growth. Operating EBITDA for the segment totaled $349 million, a decrease of 9 percent from operating EBITDA of $382 million in the year-ago period, primarily from lower volumes partially offset by cost productivity actions and favorable product mix."

06:20 EDT Eli Lilly, Boehringer report EMPEROR-Reduced trial met primary endpoint - Top-line results from the EMPEROR-Reduced phase III trial in adults with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, with and without diabetes, were announced by Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly. EMPEROR-Reduced met its primary endpoint, demonstrating superiority with Jardiance 10 mg compared to placebo in reducing the risk for the composite of cardiovascular death or hospitalization due to heart failure, when added to standard of care. Overall the safety profile was similar to the known safety profile of Jardiance. Full results from the EMPEROR-Reduced trial will be presented in a hot line session at the European Society of Cardiology, or ESC, on August 29, and regulatory submissions are planned in 2020. A second trial, EMPEROR-Preserved, is exploring the effect of Jardiance on cardiovascular death or hospitalization in adults with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction - an area with no approved treatment options. EMPEROR-Preserved results are expected in 2021.

06:20 EDT DuPont reports Q2 Transportation & Industrial net sales down 34% to $832M - DuPont said in its Q2 earnings release, "Transportation & Industrial reported net sales of $832 million, down 34 percent from the year-ago period. Organic sales were down 33 percent with volume down 28 percent and price lower by 5 percent. Currency was a 1 percent headwind. Volume declined 28 percent due to lower auto builds, as global automotive production was down approximately 45 percent versus the year-ago period. The impact of COVID-19 on other key industrial markets, in addition to automotive, contributed to the double-digit volume declines. Operating EBITDA for the segment was $49 million, a decrease of 86 percent from operating EBITDA of $357 million in the year-ago period, driven primarily by charges of approximately $130 million associated with temporarily idling approximately 50 percent of our polymer capacity to align supply with demand."

06:19 EDT DuPont reports Q2 Nutrition & Biosciences net sales down 1% to $1.5B - DuPont said in its Q2 earnings release, "Nutrition & Biosciences reported net sales of $1.5 billion, down 1 percent from the year-ago period. Organic sales were up 1 percent with volume up 1 percent; price was flat. Currency was a 2 percent headwind. Mid-single digit growth across 85 percent of the Nutrition & Biosciences segment driven by strength in food & beverage and health & wellness end markets was partially offset by declines in businesses exposed to energy and industrial markets. Sales gains were led by Food & Beverage on volume gains in the plant-based meat category and price improvements across the F&B portfolio, as well as Pharma Solutions which recorded its strongest sales quarter ever on increased demand in over-the-counter and prescription pharma applications. Within Health & Biosciences, the probiotics business recorded another record quarter with over 30 percent organic growth. Additionally, sustained consumer demand drove growth in animal nutrition and home & personal care applications. These areas of strength within Health & Biosciences were more than offset by significant demand weakness in biorefinery and microbial control. In 2019, these two businesses accounted for approximately 15 percent of the Nutrition & Biosciences segment. Operating EBITDA for the segment was $418 million, an increase of 8 percent from operating EBITDA of $386 million in the year-ago period. Favorable product mix led by gains in probiotics and animal nutrition as well as cost productivity actions generated a 240 basis point improvement in operating EBITDA margins."

06:16 EDT Accenture selected by Bank of England for RTGS service - Accenture said in a release, "Accenture has been selected to work with the Bank of England to renew the Real-Time Gross Settlement, or RTGS, service to support resilience and innovation in payments and settlements in the U.K. In this role, Accenture will be the technology delivery partner for the RTGS Renewal Programme, working with the Bank of England to deliver this critical national payments infrastructure. The RTGS Renewal Programme includes building and integrating the new RTGS platform and improving data access and providing a service that will support the financial services sector and their customers in the years to come. The RTGS service is the infrastructure that holds accounts for banks, building societies and other institutions delivering final and risk-free settlement. The service plays a critical role in the U.K. economy, processing approximately GBP 685 billion worth of transactions each working day. The renewed RTGS service will be designed to respond to the changing structure of the financial system, give access to a wider number of firms, ensure resilience is at the heart of the service, offer wider interoperability and improved functionality, and strengthen end-to-end risk management of the U.K.'s high value payment system."

06:14 EDT Credit Suisse 'well prepared' for further potential risks from COVID-19 - The company said: " While the scale of the adverse economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis and path to recovery is still difficult to assess, the US GAAP CECL approach to provisioning should generally lead to earlier recognition of potential credit losses. Moreover, a substantial proportion of our overall loan book is collateralized and our profitable and resilient operations in our Swiss home market have historically experienced low credit losses. While US dollar interest rate headwinds are likely to persist, we expect a more stable net interest incomeperformance from our Swiss Franc-denominated business. In recent months, capital markets haveworked effectively to allow for refinancing of corporates around the world and we expect this trend to continue. Although elevated activity levels have subsided in our trading and transaction-based businesses, we expect volatility to persist and present opportunities to support our clients. We are accelerating the pace of change to make our organization even more effective in how we serve our clients and generate efficiencies for further growth investments and for our continued digitalization efforts across all of our divisions. We believe we are well prepared for further potential risks from COVID-19 as well as increased geopolitical uncertainties and can maintain a resilient financial performance and robust capital position through this challenging period."

06:12 EDT Dunkin' Brands reinstates dividend program - Dunkin' Brands announced that its board has reinstated its dividend program and declared a quarterly cash dividend to shareholders. The dividend of 40.3c per share of common stock is payable on September 9 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on September 1. "This morning we announced that our Board of Directors has reinstated our dividend program, and authorized and declared a quarterly dividend for the third quarter. The reinstatement of our dividend reflects the overall financial health of Dunkin' Brands and our commitment to shareholders," said Kate Jaspon, Chief Financial Officer, Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. "In addition, the Company repaid all of its borrowings under its variable funding notes during the second quarter and ended the quarter with a strong cash balance to provide ongoing financial flexibility. Given the strength and stability of our franchised model, coupled with our franchisees' ongoing business recovery, we remain confident in our ability to maintain appropriate liquidity through the current crisis."

06:10 EDT Credit Suisse reaffirms strategy, to implement structural changes - Thomas Gottstein, CEO of Credit Suisse Group AG, commented: "In a continued volatile market environment, we delivered a strong performance. Despite persistent challenges caused by COVID-19, our employees again showed outstanding commitment and dedication. With an RoTE of 11.0% for the second quarter and 12.0% for the first six months 2020, we delivered on our pre-COVID-19 ambition to achieve an RoTE of approximately 10% for 2020, confirming the resilience of our integrated business model as a leading wealth manager with strong global investment banking capabilities. Amid the turbulent market environment, we were also able to improve our CET1 ratio in the second quarter to 12.5%. Having achieved strong results in the first half of the year, we would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm our strategy and to announce several structural changes, which we will implement going forward. The changes should allow us to extract significant potential to improve effectiveness and efficiency, navigate the current environment with the necessary far-sightedness, and to unlock additional growth potential in the future to the benefit of our clients."

06:09 EDT Clarivate Analytics up 2.4% after reporting Q2 results, reaffirming guidance

06:05 EDT Johnson & Johnson says SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate elicited immune response - Johnson & Johnson announced that its lead vaccine candidate protected against infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in pre-clinical studies. The data, published in Nature, show the company's investigational adenovirus serotype 26, or Ad26, vector-based vaccine "elicited a robust immune response" as demonstrated by "neutralizing antibodies," preventing subsequent infection and providing complete or near-complete protection in the lungs from the virus in non-human primates, or NHPs, in the pre-clinical study. Based on the the data, a Phase 1/2a first-in-human clinical trial of the vaccine candidate, Ad26.COV2.S, in healthy volunteers, has now commenced in the United States and Belgium. The Janssen COVID-19 clinical trial program, including the Phase 1/2a clinical trial and the Phase 3 clinical trial program, will evaluate both one- and two-dose regimens of Ad26.COV2.S in parallel studies. The Phase 1/2a trial will evaluate the safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity of Ad26.COV2.S in over 1,000 healthy adults aged 18 to 55 years, as well as adults aged 65 years and older. Planning also is underway for a Phase 2a study in the Netherlands, Spain and Germany and a Phase 1 study in Japan. As the Company plans its COVID-19 Phase 3 clinical development program, discussions are underway with partners with the objective to start a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of the single vaccine dose versus placebo in September, pending the interim data of the Phase 1 and 2 trials and approval of regulators. Simultaneously, the company also is planning to start a parallel Phase 3 clinical trial of a two-dose regimen versus placebo. The company also will emphasize representation of populations that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic as it designs and implements its COVID-19 Phase 3 trial program. In the United States, this would include representation of Blacks, Hispanic/Latinx and participants over 65 years of age. The pre-clinical studies were conducted by researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, or BIDMC, in collaboration with the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson and others as part of its ongoing collaboration to accelerate the development of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. In the studies, researchers first immunized the NHPs with a panel of vaccine prototypes, and then challenged them with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The scientists found that, of seven vaccine prototypes tested in the study, Ad26.COV2.S, elicited the highest levels of neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. The level of antibodies correlated with the level of protection, confirming previous observations and suggesting they could be a potential biomarker for vaccine-mediated protection. The six NHPs that received a single immunization with Ad26.COV2.S showed no detectable virus in the lower respiratory tract after exposure to SARS-CoV-2, and only one of six showed very low levels of the virus in a nasal swab at two time points. As Johnson & Johnson progresses the clinical development of SARS-CoV-2, the company continues to increase manufacturing capacity and is in active discussions with global strategic partners to support worldwide access. Johnson & Johnson aims to meet its goal to supply more than 1B doses globally through the course of 2021, provided the vaccine is safe and effective.

06:03 EDT UPS: Consolidated average daily volume surged to record 20.9% growth

06:01 EDT PDF Solutions enters partnership with Advantest - Advantest and PDF Solutions said in a release, "they have established a partnership that includes: a development agreement for PDF's assistance in development of a cloud-based software solution for Advantest's customers that is based on PDF's Exensio software analytics platform - an Advantest Cloud powered by PDF Exensio - for both Advantest's internal use as well as use by Advantest's customers; a commercial agreement providing for the license of technology solutions based on Advantest's testing platforms and PDF's Exensio platform; a significant 5-year cloud-based, subscription by Advantest to PDF Solutions' Exensio analytics platform; and the purchase by Advantest of 3,306,924 newly issued shares of PDF Solutions common stock for approximately $65.2 million. By combining the PDF Solutions Exensio platform and DEX with Advantest's advanced testing equipment, Advantest will be able to provide its customers with the ability to connect, test, measure and analyze at any point in the semiconductor value chain, helping customers increase yield and reduce testing costs. The partnership further demonstrates Advantest's commitment to expanding test and measurement solutions throughout the semiconductor value chain and represents an important milestone in Advantest's objectives of Grand Design. PDF Solutions recognizes the importance of connecting the Exensio platform with all semiconductor manufacturing systems across the semiconductor value chain and will continue to work with and maintain relationships with all manufacturers, both front-end and back-end."

05:56 EDT FSD Pharma announces decision to surrender Heath Canada licenses for subsidiary - FSD Pharma said in a release, "FSD Pharma has notified Health Canada of the Company's decision to forfeit the licenses of its wholly-owned subsidiary, FV Pharma, and suspend all activities by FV Pharma within 30 days of the notification date. FSD Pharma has begun the process of liquidating all FV Pharma assets, including the sale of the Company's cannabis production facility in Cobourg, Ontario. 'It is now clear to us that our shareholder value is best served in closing down our medicinal grade cannabis operation in Cobourg, Ontario and reinforcing steps to advance pharmaceutical R&D efforts on our lead compound FSD201 (ultra-micronized PEA) and continuing to explore the acquisition of other compelling compounds to expand our drug development pipeline," said Raza Bokhari, MD, Executive Co-Chairman & CEO. 'Our pharmaceutical R&D team led by Dr. Edward Brennan is actively working to submit an Investigational New Drug Application to the FDA for the use of FSD201 (ultra-micronized PEA) to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients by down-regulating the over-expressed pro-inflammatory cytokine immune response to SARS-CoV-2 virus infection. We are hopeful to initiate the phase 2 clinical trial before the end of this year and remain cautiously optimistic that our study may improve treatment outcome for COVID-19 patients.' The Company is not making any express or implied claims that its product has the ability to eliminate, cure or contain the COVID-19 (or SARS-2 Coronavirus) at this time."

05:49 EDT Liberty Latin America to acquire Telefonica operations in Costa Rica - Liberty Latin America (LILA) announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Telefonica S.A.'s (TEF) wireless operations in Costa Rica. LILA said in a release, "The all-cash transaction values Telefonica Costa Rica at an enterprise value of $500 million on a cash- and debt-free basis. This equates to an estimated multiple of 6.0x Telefonica Costa Rica's fiscal year 2019 Adjusted OIBDA, including projected annual run-rate synergies. The transaction is subject to certain customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the first half of 2021."

05:43 EDT InterDigital files patent infringement action against Xiaomi in India - InterDigital said in a release, "InterDigital (IDCC) has filed two patent infringement actions in India against Xiaomi (XIACF). One complaint involves infringement of five of InterDigital's cellular 3G and 4G Indian patents and the other complaint involves infringement of three of InterDigital's H.265/HEVC Indian patents. The claims were filed after years of negotiations and after InterDigital has made clear that it is willing to resolve the terms of a FRAND license through binding arbitration. The patents asserted in the cellular action draw from InterDigital's significant contributions over the years to 3G and 4G LTE cellular standards, reflected in the company's portfolio of more than 32,000 patents and applications worldwide. InterDigital has invested more than two decades of R&D effort in developing 3G, 4G and 5G technologies and is consistently recognized among the top innovators and owners of patents relevant to cellular wireless technologies. The patents asserted in the H.265/HEVC action reflect the world-class R&D of the company's Research and Innovation Unit in video coding technologies, which was integrated into InterDigital's research team after being acquired from Technicolor in 2019."

05:29 EDT Spartan Energy Acquisition provides information on extension of merger deadline - Spartan Energy Acquisition said in a release, "Spartan Energy Acquisition (SPAQ), a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, sponsored by an affiliate of Apollo Global Management (APO), provided information regarding a proposal to amend Spartan's amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the date by which Spartan has to complete a business combination for an additional six months, from August 14, 2020 to February 14, 2021. Like many SPACs, Spartan's charter currently provides that Spartan has 24 months from the closing of Spartan's initial public offering to complete an initial business combination. As previously announced, Spartan has entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination that would result in Fisker becoming a publicly listed company. However, the Fisker Transaction is not expected to be completed until after August 14. Accordingly, Spartan is seeking the Extension in order to allow Spartan to complete the Fisker Transaction. In order to obtain the Extension, Spartan must amend certain provisions of its charter. Stockholder approval of the Charter Amendment is required by Delaware law and Spartan's charter. In addition, pursuant to Spartan's charter, the holders of Spartan's Class A common stock must be given the opportunity to redeem their shares in connection with the Charter Amendment, even if the price of the Class A common stock on the New York Stock Exchange is higher than the redemption price. If you are a holder of Spartan's Class A common stock and you choose not to redeem your shares in connection with the Extension or the Fisker Transaction, you will continue to hold your shares following the closing of the Fisker Transaction. Accordingly, if you hold Spartan Class A common stock and want to continue to hold those shares following the closing of the Fisker Transaction, you should not redeem your shares in connection with the Extension and you should vote your shares "FOR" the Charter Amendment. If the Charter Amendment is approved by the requisite vote of stockholders, the remaining holders of Spartan's Class A common stock will retain their rights to redeem their shares and vote on the Fisker Transaction when the Fisker Transaction is submitted to Spartan's stockholders at a future date. The Fisker Transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2020, subject to, among other things, the approval by Spartan's stockholders, satisfaction of the conditions stated in the definitive agreement and other customary closing conditions."