Biotech Spotlight: Rising Stars & $10 Stocks Set to Soar

Stocks fell on Thursday, coming on the heels of the S&P 500’s record-setting close, as investor sentiment soured following a disappointing forecast from retail giant Walmart.
The company’s shares dropped more than 6% after Walmart projected fiscal year sales growth of just 3% to 4% and issued a fiscal 2026 earnings outlook that missed analyst expectations—overshadowing its strong Q4 performance.

As of, 11:10 AM ET, the Dow was down -521.23 points, or -1.16795%, at $44106.36. The Nasdaq Composite lost -190.548 points, or -0.85927%, at $21985.05. The S&P 500 declined -46.39 points, or -0.75503%, at $6097.76. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 10 showed negative movement, with Financials leading the way with a 1.93% decrease.

Meanwhile, economic concerns weighed on the market after The Conference Board reported an unexpected contraction in its Leading Economic Index for January. Treasury yields slipped, and bank stocks such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley also declined as investors grapple with uncertainty about the broader economic outlook.

Top Movers: Under $10

Mobile health Network Solutions (MNDR) is up 84.33% today to trade at the current level of $0.61. This comes after the company announced a $10 million strategic funding agreement to support the development and expansion of its AI Agent technology.

Xos Inc (XOS) zoomed 139.62% in today’s trade to $7.50 after announcing that its innovative Xos Hub has been officially added to the General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule.

In current trading, Lottery.com Inc (LTRY) stock is at $1.50 following news that Sports.com, a leading global sports media and technology platform owned by Lottery.com Inc. (LTRY) recently announced a multi-year partnership with Soccerex becoming its official title sponsor for the next 24 months.

Origin Materials Inc (ORGN) rose 26.56% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $1.05. The company announced that, in a historic first, Origin has commenced the commercial production of PET caps at our manufacturing center in Reed City, Michigan.

In the current trading session, FibroGen Inc (FGEN) jumped 22.67% to $0.69 over a previous close of $0.56 after announcing the sale of its China subsidiary to AstraZeneca for approximately $160 million.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Astrazeneca plc ADR (AZN) 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 $1.03 per share. It has fixed February 21 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on March 24. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.49 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, AZN has a trailing yield of 1.99% on the current stock price of $74.60.

Shares of Masco Corp (MAS) will be the talk of the stock market on Friday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.31 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $1.16 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that MAS has a trailing yield of 1.52% on the current share price of $76.36.

Pitney Bowes, Inc (PBI) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from PBI will amount to $0.06 per share. February 21 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for March 24. In the previous year, PBI distributed a total of $0.15 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for PBI stands at 1.41% based on the current stock price of $10.65.

PPG Industries, Inc (PPG) will be paying out a dividend of $0.68 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of February 21. Over the past 12 months, PPG has paid out a total of $2.01 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, PPG boasts an impressive trailing yield of 1.72% on the current share price of $116.62.

Crypto Market Highlights

• The Blockchain Association, representing 76 cryptocurrency communities, urged congressional leaders to support Senator Ted Cruz in repealing the IRS’s decentralized finance (DeFi) broker rule.

• Tether-backed Mansa, a financial technology firm specializing in cross-border payments using stablecoins, closed a $10 million funding round on Feb. 20.

• Brazil's securities regulator approved the country's first spot XRP exchange-traded fund, coinciding with an 8% rise in XRP's value over the past 24 hours.

• Montana’s House Business and Labor Committee passed a bill that could enable Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to become reserve assets.

• Microsoft unveiled its first quantum computing chip on Feb. 19, joining other companies pursuing the technology that may eventually challenge cryptocurrencies.

Most Shorted Stocks

Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc (FFIE) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 27.71% 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 1.2. This represents a change of 3870000 shares, which corresponds to a +26.86% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $30.53 million. The average daily volume stands at 17.48M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $122.18M.

The INmune Bio Inc with the symbol INMB currently has a short interest of 24.85%. The short interest has changed by 480000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 16.7. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $48.71 million. On an average day, 361.23K shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $196.01M.

For the stock Enovix Corporation (ENVX), the current short interest is at 28.38%. This represents a significant short interest change of 800000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +1.80%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 7.4. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $480.07 million.

With the symbol CRSP, the stock currently has a short interest of 22.72%. The short interest change is -820000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -4.04%. It would take approximately 10.1 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $2.29 billion. The company boasts an average daily volume of 2.14M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $4.33B.

The stock AEHR has a current short interest of 22.05%. The short interest percentage has experienced a decrease of -6.29% while there was a change of -440000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 5.3. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $242.26 million. Trading activity averages at 1.25M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $369.32M.

Biotech Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Kiora Pharmaceuticals Inc (KPRX) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Biotech industry, attaining an impressive score of 72. The stock's profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Biocryst Pharmaceuticals Inc (BCRX) as a high-quality Biotech stock today, presenting a Score of 63. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, and growth. The financial strength, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Krystal Biotech Inc (KRYS) has the ST Score of 63, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, growth, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. Stock sentiment and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Theratechnologies Inc (THTX) stock has the ST Score of 65 which implies that the Biotech company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, performance, and financial strength, but its weaknesses are in its stock sentiment, and forecast. However, it shows a neutral outlook in growth, and a Piotroski Score.

Oramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc (ORMP) currently has the ST Score of 64, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Biotech stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, and financial strength, while its weak points are its stock sentiment and forecast. The stock's growth and Piotroski Score indicate a neutral outlook.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading. Good luck out there!

Best Regards,

Stocks Telegraph Team

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