Dear Readers,

The S&P 500 is coasting on a calm Thursday, gearing up for a five-year record-breaking first-quarter finale! With a robust 10% hike, it's mirroring its stellar 13.1% rise from 2019. The Dow's up by 5.5%, eyeing its best start since 2021's 7.4% boost, while the Nasdaq glows with a 9.3% gain.

Monthly figures show the S&P climbing 3%, and both the Nasdaq and Dow are on track with over 1.9% growth. Jobless claims dipped to 210K this week, just a notch below forecasts.

Markets will pause for Good Friday, but key economic data won't take a break - watch out for updates on personal income and spending!

As of 12:10 PM ET, the Dow was up 17.9922 points, or 0.0453%, at $39778.07. The Nasdaq Composite lost -19.9297 points, or -0.109%, at $18260.912. The S&P 500 rose 3.73 points, or 0.0711%, at $5252.21. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 8 showed positive movement, with Energy leading the way with a 0.73% increase.

Top Movers: Under $10

Xilio Therapeutics Inc (XLO) is up 141.78% today to trade at the current level of $1.54. This comes after the company announced $11.3 million in private placement equity financing.

Biodexa Pharmaceuticals Plc ADR (BDRX) zoomed 86.26% in today’s trade to $1.60. The company is developing MTX110 for the treatment of Diffuse Midline Glioma (DMG) in pediatric patients and for Recurrent Glioblastoma (rGBM) in adults; two aggressive brain cancers with universally poor prognoses.

In current trading, Nexalin Technology Inc (NXL) stock is at $1.00 after announcing the positive results of a clinical study evaluating Nexalin’s Gen-2 tACS device for reducing pain in veteran patients with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI).

Flora Growth Corp (FLGC) rose 17.71% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $2.62. The company announced the signing of an exclusive distribution agreement with Althea Group Holdings Limited for Vessel brands in the United Kingdom Vessel is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company and a market leading brand of vape pens and smoking accessories.

In the current trading session, Li-Cycle Holdings Corp (LICY) jumped 14.77% to $1.04 over a previous close of $0.91. The company recently provided a business update regarding its organizational structure.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Agilent Technologies Inc. (A) 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 $0.24 per share. It has fixed April 02 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on April 24. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.91 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, A has a trailing yield of 0.62% on the current stock price of $146.31.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Republic Services, Inc. (RSG), having a market capitalization of $60.36B. It will pay a dividend of $0.54 per share, the payment date of which is April 15. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 1.07%.

Shares of Prudential plc ADR (PUK) will be the talk of stock market on Friday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.28 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.13 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that PUK has a trailing yield of 0.66% on the current share price of $19.08.

Tomorrow, Park Aerospace Corp (PKE) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from PKE will amount to $0.12 per share. April 02 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for May 03. In the previous year, PKE distributed a total of $0.50 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for PKE stands at 2.99% based on the current stock price of $16.72.

New York Times Co. (NYT) will be paying out a dividend of $0.13 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of April 02. Over the past 12 months, NYT has paid out a total of $0.44 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, NYT boasts an impressive trailing yield of 1.01% on the current share price of $43.48.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison following a federal court hearing

• Blockchain Chiliz and Ethereum layer 2 zkSync integrate with Nansen to provide insights on SportFi and zero-knowledge rollups

• Bybit expands operations in Europe amid regulatory scrutiny in Hong Kong

• DeFi protocol Prisma Finance exploited for around $10 million worth of cryptocurrencies

• XRP token's price-to-sales ratio nearly doubles that of Nvidia, standing at 61.689 compared to Nvidia's 37

• Indonesian Financial Services Authority requires the inclusion of new financial products in the regulatory sandbox, including crypto assets, for testing upcoming innovations

Most Shorted Stocks

B. Riley Financial Inc (RILY) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 76.29% 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 8.9. This represents a change of -980000 shares, which corresponds to a -7.33% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $247.18 million. The average daily volume stands at 1.37M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $610.09M.

The Upstart Holdings Inc with the symbol UPST currently has a short interest of 36.64%. The short interest has changed by -490000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 3.4. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $752.31 million. On an average day, 7.80M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $2.40B.

For the stock Beyond Meat Inc (BYND), the current short interest is at 36.02%. This represents a significant short interest change of -810000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -3.59%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 6.0. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $184.91 million.

With the symbol PHAT, the stock currently has a short interest of 40.11%. The short interest change is 1770000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +20.42%. It would take approximately 13.0 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $227.82 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 834.53K shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $611.70M.

The stock TRUP has a current short interest of 38.43%. The short interest percentage has experienced a decrease of -0.72% while there was a change of -90000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 17.6. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $293.89 million. Trading activity averages at 708.86K shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $1.18B.

Biotech Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, DiaMedica Therapeutics Inc (DMAC) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Biotech industry, attaining an impressive score of 53.0. The stock's financial strength and stock sentiment are strong. However, its Piotroski Score are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of value, profitability, performance, growth, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Xenetic Biosciences Inc (XBIO) as a high-quality Biotech stock today, presenting a Score of 50.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of valuation, and financial strength. However, it has a weak Piotroski Score. The profitability, performance, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Amylyx Pharmaceuticals Inc (AMLX) has the ST Score of 54.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in valuation, profitability, and stock sentiment but weak in growth, and forecast. Performance, financial strength, and piotroski score suggest a neutral outlook.

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

Third Harmonic Bio Inc (THRD) currently has the ST Score of 50.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Biotech stock's strong points are its profitability, financial strength, and stock sentiment, while its weak points are its growth. The stock's value, performance, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.

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