Biotech Buzz: Today's Trade Highlights, Dividends & Short Interest Insights!

As Wall Street sought to extend a late-August winning streak to five sessions, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Thursday.

In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Salesforce contributed to the rise. Wednesday, the software company reported better-than-expected quarterly results and provided third-quarter guidance. Shares increased more than 5%.

Now investors will focus on non-farm payrolls, which will be released Friday morning. The market is hoping that this report will reveal a meaningful slowdown in the economy, giving the central bank a reason to pause the rate hikes.

At 12:04 PM ET, the Dow was up +15.25 points, or +0.04%, at 34905.49. The Nasdaq Composite added +50.81 points, or +0.36%, at 14070.12. The S&P 500 rose +7.22 points, or +0.16%, at 4522.09. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 8 showed negative movement, with Real Estate leading the way with a -0.51% decrease.

Top Movers: Under $10

Acer Therapeutics Inc. (ACER) is up 131.48% today to trade at the current level of $1.41 after annoucing a definitive agreement with Zevra Therapeutics pursuant to which Zevra would acquire Acer in a merger transaction.

1847 Holdings LLC (EFSH) zoomed 62.35% in today’s trade to $0.17. This rally can be attributed to news that the company announced that it has successfully restructured all of its Promissory Notes, with two institutional investors, totaling approximately $1.75 million outstanding.

In current trading, Satixfy Communications Ltd. (SATX) stock is at $0.60 after announcing strategic $60 million transaction including a commercial agreement & subsidiary sale with MDA Ltd.

Canopy Growth Corporation (CGC) rose 34.10% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $0.61.The company recently declared that two of the Company's brands in the Canadian adult-use market have been recognized as finalists for prestigious industry awards.

In the current trading session, Infinera Corporation (INFN) jumped 12.11% to $4.72 over a previous close of $4.21 following the declaration from the company that it has been awarded a Telecom Infra Project (TIP) Requirements Compliant Bronze Badge for its Transcend Open Wave Manager Solution.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) 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 $0.86 per share. The company has fixed September 05 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on September 14. Last year, the company distributed a total of $3.44 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, ADI has a trailing yield of 1.88% on the current stock price of $182.60.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Amkor Technology Inc. (AMKR), having a market capitalization of $6.94B. It will pay a dividend of $0.08 per share, the payment date of which is September 25. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 1.06%.

Shares of L3Harris Technologies Inc. (LHX) will be the talk of stock market on Friday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $1.14 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of $4.56 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that LHX has a trailing yield of 2.54% on the current share price of $179.39.

NIKE Inc. (NKE) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from NKE will amount to $0.34 per share. September 05 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for October 02. In the previous year, NKE distributed a total of $1.36 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for NKE stands at 1.33% based on the current stock price of $102.17.

Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Company (HBB) will be paying out a dividend of $0.11 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of September 05. Over the past 12 months, HBB has paid out a total of $0.44 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, HBB boasts an impressive trailing yield of 3.86% on the current share price of $11.39.

Crypto Market Highlights

Most Shorted Stocks

Enovix Corporation (ENVX) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 28.63% 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 5.1. This represents a change of 2760000 shares, which corresponds to a +8.11%% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $517.04 million. The average daily volume stands at 7.35M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $2.12B.

The Lemonade Inc. with the symbol LMND currently has a short interest of 30.71%. The short interest has changed by -470000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 8.8. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $208.79 million. On an average day, 1.66M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $964.03M.

For the stock Guess? Inc. (GES), the current short interest is at 29.49%. This represents a significant short interest change of 270000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +3.51%%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 8.7. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $197.42 million.

The stock CIFR has a current short interest of 26.80%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +10.14%% while there was a change of 1030000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 7.1. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $44.42 million. Trading activity averages at 1.66M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $837.18M.

Biotech Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (KNSA) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Biotech industry, attaining an impressive score of 62.0. The stock's profitability, performance, growth, and Piotroski Score are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of value, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies DiaMedica Therapeutics Inc. (DMAC) as a high-quality Biotech stock today, presenting a Score of 52.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of performance, growth, financial strength, and stock sentiment. The value, profitability, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, PharmaCyte Biotech Inc. (PMCB) has the ST Score of 53.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in performance, growth, and financial strength but weak in stock sentiment. Value, profitability, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Innoviva Inc. (INVA) stock has the ST Score of 60.0 which implies that the Biotech company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its valuation, profitability, performance, and stock sentiment, but its weaknesses are in its financial strength. However, it shows neutral outlook in growth, Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Ovid Therapeutics Inc. (OVID) currently has the ST Score of 60.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Biotech stock's strong points are its performance, financial strength, and stock sentiment. The stock's value, profitability, growth, Piotroski Score, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.