Dear Readers,

On Thursday, the U.S. stock markets were positioned for a decline due to robust economic indicators and earnings, tempering expectations of an imminent Federal Reserve interest rate cut.

As of 12:10 PM ET, the Dow was down -138.9023 points, or -0.397%, at $34852.31. The Nasdaq Composite lost -22.1904 points, or -0.1403%, at $15794.985. The S&P 500 declined -6.6499 points, or -0.1477%, at $4496.23. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 8 showed negative movement, with Industrials leading the way with a -1.74% decrease.

Following Tuesday’s inflation report-induced surge, the U.S. stock markets seemed poised to take a breather as recent retail sales data indicated resilient consumer demand, surpassing initial projections.

Additionally, President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s meeting kindled optimism for reduced tensions between their nations. Their summit resulted in commitments to reestablish military communications, collaborate on curbing fentanyl production, and initiate discussions on the implications of artificial intelligence risks.

Top Movers: Under $10

WaveDancer Inc (WAVD) is up 51.90% today to trade at the current level of $2.40. This comes after the company announced merger agreement with Firefly Neuroscience.

Dermata Therapeutics Inc (DRMA) zoomed 18.25% in today’s trade to $0.77 after announcing agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the DMT310 Phase 3 clinical protocols for the treatment of acne.

In current trading, Oatly Group AB ADR (OTLY) stock is at $0.62 after declaring a new foodservice distribution arrangement in the US with Insomnia Cookies.

Kore Group Holdings Inc (KORE) rose 23.54% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $0.54 following the completion of comprehensive debt refinancing and strategic investment.

In the current trading session, Apollomics Inc (APLM) jumped 12.70% to $0.98 over a previous close of $0.87 after its partner Avistone got China's NMPA nod for vebreltinib in treating MET exon 14 NSCLC.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (HP) 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 $0.42 per share. The company has fixed November 20 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on December 04. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.42 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, HP has a trailing yield of 3.88% on the current stock price of $36.63.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Ingersoll-Rand Inc (IR), having a market capitalization of $28.31B. It will pay a dividend of $0.02 per share, the payment date of which is December 14. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 0.06%.

Shares of B. Riley Financial Inc (RILY) will be the talk of stock market on Friday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $1 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of $4.00 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that RILY has a trailing yield of 16.73% on the current share price of $23.92.

Southern Company (SO) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from SO will amount to $0.7 per share. November 20 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for December 06. In the previous year, SO distributed a total of $2.79 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for SO stands at 3.98% based on the current stock price of $69.89.

Pan American Silver Corp (PAAS) will be paying out a dividend of $0.1 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of November 20. Over the past 12 months, PAAS has paid out a total of $0.39 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, PAAS boasts an impressive trailing yield of 2.69% on the current share price of $14.37.

Crypto Market Highlights

Most Shorted Stocks

Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (MARA) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 23.82% 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 1.7. This represents a change of 850000 shares, which corresponds to a +1.63% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $504.94 million. The average daily volume stands at 32.66M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $2.12B.

The Arbor Realty Trust Inc. with the symbol ABR currently has a short interest of 24.82%. The short interest has changed by 2810000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 13.2. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $575.98 million. On an average day, 3.64M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $2.32B.

For the stock Anavex Life Sciences Corporation (AVXL), the current short interest is at 23.4%. This represents a significant short interest change of -808,073 shares. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 19.02.

The stock IONQ has a current short interest of 26.80%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +17.16% while there was a change of 6300000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 3.6. Trading activity averages at 11.11M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $2.51B.

Biotech Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Zymeworks BC Inc (ZYME) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Biotech industry, attaining an impressive score of 63.0. The stock's valuation, profitability, and performance are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies LianBio ADR (LIAN) as a high-quality Biotech stock today, presenting a Score of 60.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of performance, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast. However, it has weak growth, and Piotroski Score. The value, and profitability are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Innoviva Inc (INVA) has the ST Score of 59.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, and performance but weak in financial strength. Value, growth, stock sentiment, piotroski score, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Exelixis Inc (EXEL) stock has the ST Score of 58.0 which implies that the Biotech company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, performance, and stock sentiment, but its weaknesses are in its value, and financial strength. However, it shows neutral outlook in growth, Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Connect Biopharma Holdings Ltd ADR (CNTB) currently has the ST Score of 51.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Biotech stock's strong points are its performance, and stock sentiment. The stock's value, profitability, growth, financial strength, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.