Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) said it has priced its public offering of $1.8 billion of debt in two tranches.The U.S. carrier will offer to sell $500 million aggregate principal amount of 4.750% notes due 2023 and $1.3 billion aggregate principal amount of 5.125% notes due 2027. The 2027 notes will be issued at par value.Southwest Airlines said it expects to use the net proceeds from the offering to repay all of its outstanding debt under its 364-day credit agreement and for general corporate purposes. Upon repayment, it will terminate the credit agreement. The offering is expected to close by June 8, 2020, subject to customary closing conditions.The U.S. carrier added that the 2023 bonds are being offered as an additional issuance of its 4.750% notes due 2023, of which it sold $750 million aggregate principal amount on May 4. The notes are part of the same class as the initial notes of that series and have identical terms, other than the issue date and issue price.Stringent travel restrictions tied to the coronavirus pandemic have brought travel demand to an almost halt, slashing the value of Southwest Airlines’ shares in half this year. U.S. airlines have been burning through billions of dollars in the first quarter incurring huge losses and implementing cost-cutting plans, as well as taking steps to shore up its cash buffers to cope with the financial fallout.Over the past month, Southwest Airlines stock has seen some relief after reporting that in the month through May 18, it recorded net positive bookings reversing net negative booking trends prevalent during most of March and April, where trip cancellations outpaced new passenger bookings.Furthermore, Southwest Airlines expects to bring down average daily cash burn in June to be in the low-$20 million compared with average daily core cash spending of $30 million to $35 million in the second quarter.Last week, five-star analyst Myles Walton at UBS lifted his rating on the stock to a Buy, saying that the U.S. carrier offers the “best risk/reward” for a recovery.Meanwhile, Cowen & Co. analyst Helane Becker reiterated a Buy rating on the shares, citing Southwest’s financial strength and leisure focus.Becker believes that looking ahead to a reopening of the aviation industry, consumers are more likely to take a short-haul domestic flight than to book a trip to Europe.“The industry may still be able to salvage some of the summer season,” Becker said.Overall, Wall Street analysts are cautiously optimistic on the stock. The 13 analyst ratings are divided between 9 Buys and 4 Holds adding up to a Moderate Buy consensus. The $40.22 average price target indicates 10% upside potential in the shares in the coming 12 months. (See Southwest Airlines stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: S&P Cuts American Airlines’ Credit Rating To ‘B-‘ from ‘B’ On Cash Flow Deficit Concern Billionaire Investor Dan Loeb’s Fund Lists Boeing As Top Winner In May Amazon Leases 12 Boeing Cargo Aircraft To Meet Online Orders Surge More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * AstraZeneca Partners With Accent To Develop Novel Cancer Treatments * Nio Rising On Record-High Monthly Deliveries, Goldman Sachs Upgrade * Inovio Suing Suppliers Over Covid-19 Vaccine Production * S&P; Cuts American Airlines’ Credit Rating To 'B-' from 'B' On Cash Flow Deficit Concern

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Pilgrim’s Pride CEO and 3 other chicken producer executives have been indicted over allegations of price-fixing. Yahoo Finance’s Heidi Chung joins Zack Guzman to discuss.

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China’s electric vehicle maker Nio Inc (NIO) has revealed that it delivered 3,436 vehicles in May 2020, representing a strong 215.5% growth year over year. Shares are now rising 3% in Thursday’s pre-market trading.The deliveries consisted of 2,685 ES6s, the company’s 5-seater high-performance premium smart electric SUV, and 751 ES8s, the company’s 7-seater high-performance premium smart electric SUV and its 6-seater variant.As of May 31, 2020, cumulative deliveries of the ES8 and the ES6 reached 42,342 vehicles, of which 10,429 were delivered in 2020, NIO said.“In May, we achieved record-high monthly deliveries in our history” cheered William Bin Li, founder and CEO of NIO. He stated that the company “will further increase our production capacity and expand our sales network to support our future growth.”Meanwhile Steven Feng, chief financial officer of NIO, added, “We are pleased to see the strong monthly deliveries despite fewer working days due to the public holiday in May. We expect to achieve the delivery goal for the second quarter 2020, while continuously improving gross margin and narrowing operating loss.”In a further bullish signal NIO rallied 19% on June 3 after the stock received an upgrade from Goldman Sachs analyst Fei Fang. This comes on the back of rating upgrades from JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch.Fang boosted the stock from hold to buy with a $6.40 price target (14% upside potential). “We believe ES6 and ES8 volume strength has transitioned from being promotion-driven to reputation-driven,” Fang told investors, adding that never before has a domestic premium Chinese auto brand had a waiting list.With NIO stock enjoying a 39% year-to-date gain, analysts have a cautiously optimistic Moderate Buy consensus and an average analyst price target of $5.70 (2% upside potential). (See Nio stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: Lyft Rises 5% After-Hours On Strong May Performance Can Tesla Provide the Million Mile EV Battery? Top Analyst Weighs In Uber In Partnership With MoneyGram For Driver Discount During Pandemic More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * AstraZeneca Partners With Accent To Develop Novel Cancer Treatments * Inovio Suing Suppliers Over Covid-19 Vaccine Production * S&P; Cuts American Airlines’ Credit Rating To 'B-' from 'B' On Cash Flow Deficit Concern   * FedEx Adding Temporary Surcharges As Covid-19 Pressures Mount

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