Dear Readers,

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average started the day with gains, the other major indexes as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate announcement.

As of 12:18 PM ET, the Dow was up 118.8 points, or 0.31%, at $37934.73. The Nasdaq Composite lost -100.834 points, or -0.5781%, at $17339.857. The S&P 500 declined -12.3799 points, or -0.2458%, at $5023.31. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 7 showed positive movement, with Industrials leading the way with a 1.09% increase.

While chip stocks, which have a greater presence in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, faced significant declines, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF dropping 2.3%. Nvidia, another non-Dow component, saw its shares fall by 2.8%.

Top Movers: Under $10

CytomX Therapeutics Inc (CTMX) is up 203.37% today to trade at the current level of $4.95. This comes after the company provided investors with an update for its upcoming earnings report.

IM Cannabis Corp (IMCC) zoomed 25.58% in today’s trade to $1.08 following news that President Joe Biden’s administration plans to reclassify marijuana.

In current trading, New York Community Bancorp Inc. (NYCB) stock is at $3.48 after reporting its results for the first quarter of 2024 and provided an update on its financial targets through 2026.

Palisade Bio Inc (PALI) rose 18.41% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $7.14 after announcing the successful completion of its analysis to determine the effects of bioactivated PALI-2108 on TNF-α production in whole blood (WB) assay.

In the current trading session, Getaround Inc. (GETR) jumped 19.09% to $0.24 over a previous close of $0.20. The company announced that its existing debt facility with Mudrick Capital Management has been expanded to provide the company with up to $50 million in additional capital.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Carrier Global Corp (CARR) is about to trade ex-dividend tomorrow, meaning that investors who buy the stock after tomorrow will not be eligible for the next dividend payment. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.19 per share. It has fixed May 03 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on May 22. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.75 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, CARR has a trailing yield of 1.22% on the current stock price of $61.00.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Hexcel Corp. (HXL), having a market capitalization of $5.50B. It will pay a dividend of $0.15 per share, the payment date of which is May 10. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 0.79%.

Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings Inc (LW) will be the talk of the stock market on Thursday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.36 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $1.20 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that LW has a trailing yield of 1.47% on the current share price of $81.89.

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from NSC will amount to $1.35 per share. May 03 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for May 20. In the previous year, NSC distributed a total of $5.40 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for NSC stands at 2.36% based on the current stock price of $229.09.

Premier Financial Corp (PFC) will be paying out a dividend of $0.31 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of May 03. Over the past 12 months, PFC has paid out a total of $1.24 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, PFC boasts an impressive trailing yield of 6.25% on the current share price of $19.84.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Bitvavo to utilize Figment's staking infrastructure for various token staking services.

• Tether Holdings records an all-time high net profit of $4.52 billion in Q1 2024.

• Chainlink partners with Rapid Addition to develop a FIX-native adapter for institutional digital asset trading.

• Interpol's Nigerian Central Bureau completes extradition paperwork for Binance executive Nadeem Anjarwalla.

• Central Bank of Nigeria instructs four fintech firms to halt new customer onboarding to enhance KYC compliance in crypto and traditional investments.

Most Shorted Stocks

Medical Properties Trust Inc (MPW) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 37.37% short interest. The days to cover ratio, a measure of how long it would take for all the short positions to be covered based on average trading volume, is 11.4. This represents a change of 12710000 shares, which corresponds to a +6.15% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $1.04 billion. The average daily volume stands at 18.71M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $2.84B.

The Comstock Resources, Inc. with the symbol CRK currently has a short interest of 37.19%. The short interest has changed by 3990000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 6.5. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $287.14 million. On an average day, 4.48M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $2.74B.

For the stock Upstart Holdings Inc (UPST), the current short interest is at 35.8%. This represents a significant short interest change of 200,890 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of 0.74%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 5.58. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $4.49 million.

With the symbol ZIM, the stock currently has a short interest of 33.44%. The short interest change is -1150000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -3.52%. It would take approximately 5.9 days to cover all the short positions. The company boasts an average daily volume of 4.94M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $1.60B.

The stock NOVA has a current short interest of 37.57%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of +1.27% while there was a change of 500000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 4.0. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $133.56 million. Trading activity averages at 10.21M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $519.32M.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Zoom Video Communications Inc (ZM) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 62.0. The stock's profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score are strong. However, its growth is weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of value, performance, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies EPAM Systems Inc (EPAM) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 61.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, financial strength, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak value. The performance, growth, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR) has the ST Score of 60.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score but weak in value. Performance, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

NVIDIA Corp (NVDA) stock has the ST Score of 57.0 which implies that the AI company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, growth, and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its value. However, it shows a neutral outlook in performance, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Arista Networks Inc (ANET) currently has the ST Score of 57.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability, financial strength, and stock sentiment, while its weak points are its value. The stock's performance, growth, Piotroski Score, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.