Tesla Inc’s chief executive Elon Musk said that it is time to bring its Semi commercial truck to “volume production”, as the U.S. electric vehicle maker ramps up vehicle production after a brief virus-related shutdown. “Production of the battery and powertrain will take place at Giga Nevada,” Musk said in an email seen by Reuters.

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Shares in Five Below (FIVE) surged 11% in Tuesday’s after-hours trading, despite the specialty value retailer posting a resounding earnings miss.Specifically, Q1 Non-GAAP EPS of -$0.93 fell short of Street expectations by $0.63 while GAAP EPS of -$0.91 also missed by $0.61. Revenue plunged 45% year-over-year to $200.9M, which also came in $29.99M below Street estimates. Comparable sales decreased by 51.8% and net loss was $50.6M vs $25.7M in the first quarter of fiscal 2019.During the quarter, FIVE opened 20 net new stores- bringing its total store count to 920- with roughly 90% of stores now reopened after closing on March 20 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.Joel Anderson, FIVE CEO, stated, “The challenges of the last few months were unprecedented. We temporarily closed stores on March 20… [and] this decision had significant financial ramifications.” However, he did add: “We are very pleased with the initial sales trends we are seeing as stores reopen.”Five Below did not provide sales or earnings guidance for Q2 or fiscal 2020- but it did reveal that it expects to open 100 to 120 net new stores in 2020.“Unsurprisingly, 1Q comps declined (51.8%) as GM/SG&A took a hit from fixed cost deleverage due to the sales impact of store closures” commented RBC Capital’s Scot Ciccarelli post-print.“While re-opened stores are comping +8% QTD, traffic trend questions will likely persist for the near/medium-term and social distancing requirements could pressure the high-volume holiday selling season” he wrote.Nonetheless, the analyst says he remains a ‘buyer’ of FIVE as he took his price target from $102 to $115, citing the stock’s low price point offering and highly compelling economic model.Overall, FIVE shows a cautiously optimistic Moderate Buy consensus with 10 recent buy ratings and 4 hold ratings. The average analyst price target stands in-line with the current share price at $103. Shares are currently trading down 19% year-to-date. (See FIVE stock analysis on TipRanks)Related News: GameStop Down 7% After-Hours As Earnings Fail To Impress Lululemon Earnings Preview: Will LULU Live Up To The Hype? Apple Seeks To Boost Sales Via Mac Trade-Ins, Payment Plans- Report More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Coupa Software Seeks To Raise $1.1 Billion From Debt Sale * Global Airlines Are Set To Lose $84.3 Billion In 2020, IATA Says * Merck’s Keytruda Fails To Meet Endpoints In Bladder Cancer Trial * Boeing’s Aircraft Deliveries Drop In May As Cancellations Rise

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Merck (MRK) has announced disappointing results from its Phase 3 Keynote-361 trial evaluating Keytruda, Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, in combination with chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic bladder cancer.The therapy did not meet its dual primary endpoints of overall survival (OS) or progression-free survival (PFS), compared with standard of care chemotherapy.In the final analysis of the study, there was an improvement in OS and PFS for patients treated with Keytruda in combination with chemotherapy compared to chemotherapy alone; however, these results did not meet statistical significance.Keytruda’s safety profile in the trial was consistent with previously reported studies, and no new safety signals were identified, Merck said. The study had enrolled 1,010 patients.“While we are disappointed in these study results, Keytruda has been established as an important option in the treatment of metastatic bladder cancer, and we are committed to continuing our research to help more patients with this disease” commented Dr. Roy Baynes, CMO of Merck Research Laboratories.Indeed, Keytruda already has three FDA-approved bladder cancer indications across multiple types and stages of bladder cancer. Plus Merck is still evaluating Keytruda as a monotherapy and in combination with other anti-cancer therapies across several disease settings (i.e., metastatic, muscle invasive bladder cancer, and non-muscle invasive bladder cancer).Keytruda is an anti-PD-1 therapy that works by increasing the ability of the body’s immune system to help detect and fight tumor cells. It is a humanized monoclonal antibody that blocks the interaction between PD-1 and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, thereby activating T lymphocytes which may affect both tumor cells and healthy cells.Shares in Merck are falling 10% on a year-to-date basis, but analysts have a bullish outlook on the stock with a Strong Buy consensus. This is made up of 9 recent buy ratings vs 2 hold ratings. The average analyst price target stands at $92 (12% upside potential). (See Merck stock analysis on TipRanks)Following ASCO 2020, Mizuho Securities’ Mara Goldstein wrote “A key take-away for us on MRK is the likelihood of continued dominance for Keytruda and the opportunity of the company to add to its immuno-oncology arsenal.” She has a buy rating on the stock and $100 price target.Related News: 5 Promising Covid-19 Vaccines Picked For Trump’s Operation Warp Speed What Would a Merger Mean for Gilead? Top Analyst Weighs In Soleno Plunging 48% In Pre-Market On Obesity Study Failure More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Coupa Software Seeks To Raise $1.1 Billion From Debt Sale * Global Airlines Are Set To Lose $84.3 Billion In 2020, IATA Says * Five Below Surges 11% After-Hours Despite Earnings Miss * Boeing’s Aircraft Deliveries Drop In May As Cancellations Rise

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