Dear Readers,

On Thursday, the S&P 500 declined following the release of higher-than-anticipated U.S. inflation figures, resulting in increased Treasury yields, while Nvidia shares faced downward pressure.

February saw a 0.6% increase in the producer price index (PPI), which measures wholesale inflation. The core PPI, excluding food and energy costs, rose by 0.3% during the same period. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had projected a 0.3% rise in headline PPI and a 0.2% uptick in the core reading. Initially resilient, stocks lost momentum shortly after the market opened.

The surge in inflation led to a rise in bond yields, with the 10-year Treasury yield increasing by 9 basis points. Nvidia shares experienced their fourth decline in five sessions, dropping by over 3%.

The PPI release marks the final significant economic data before the Federal Reserve's forthcoming policy meeting scheduled for March 19-20.

In the meantime, former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin informed CNBC that he is assembling an investor consortium to potentially acquire TikTok's parent company, ByteDance.

As of 11:54 AM ET, the Dow was down -74.08 points, or -0.1897%, at $38969.25. The Nasdaq Composite lost -24.6758 points, or -0.1366%, at $18043.791. The S&P 500 declined -12.31 points, or -0.2383%, at $5152.99. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 12 showed negative movement, with Real Estate leading the way with a 1.05% decrease.

Top Movers: Under $10

Presto Automation Inc (PRST) is up 30.28% today to trade at the current level of $0.29. This comes after the company announces pricing of $1.2M registered direct offering priced above Nasdaq minimum price.

KULR Technology Group Inc (KULR) zoomed 14.29% in today’s trade to $0.16. The company announced in a landmark development it has been awarded a pivotal contract exceeding $865,000 from Nanoracks.

In current trading, Unicycive Therapeutics Inc (UNCY) stock is at $1.54 following the declaration of $50 million private placement.

Lithium Americas Corp (NewCo) (LAC) rose 11.87% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $6.41after the company received conditional commitment for $2.26 billion ATVM loan from the U.S. DOE for construction of Thacker Pass.

In the current trading session, Grom Social Enterprises Inc (GROM) jumped 3.13% to $0.99 over a previous close of $0.96 following the announcement from Arctic7 that it has agreed to be acquired by Grom Social Enterprises, Inc (GROM).

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Prologis Inc (PLD) 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 $0.96 per share. It has fixed March 18 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on March 29. Last year, the company distributed a total of $3.48 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, PLD has a trailing yield of 2.66% on the current stock price of $130.75.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Hess Corporation (HES), having a market capitalization of $45.89B. It will pay a dividend of $0.44 per share, the payment date of which is March 28. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 0.88%.

Shares of Huntington Bancshares, Inc. (HBAN) will be the talk of stock market on Friday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.15 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.62 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that HBAN has a trailing yield of 4.70% on the current share price of $13.20.

DTE Energy Co. (DTE) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from DTE will amount to $1.02 per share. March 18 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for April 15. In the previous year, DTE distributed a total of $3.88 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for DTE stands at 3.55% based on the current stock price of $109.14.

AAON Inc. (AAON) will be paying out a dividend of $0.08 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of March 18. Over the past 12 months, AAON has paid out a total of $0.24 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, AAON boasts an impressive trailing yield of 0.30% on the current share price of $80.92.

Crypto Market Highlights

• The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) launches phase two of e-HKD pilot program, seeks industry participation and CBDC use case submissions.

• Nigerian crypto stakeholders divided over the government's request for Binance's top 100 user details amid the crackdown.

• BNB Chain introduces a rollup service for layer-2 blockchain development.

• EU financial regulators propose additional stablecoin regulation guidelines under MiCA framework.

• IMF provides technical advice to Andorra on recording Bitcoin transactions.

• U.S. Attorney's Office initiates civil forfeiture action to return $2.3 million in various cryptocurrencies to victims of online scams and fraud.

Most Shorted Stocks

Trupanion Inc (TRUP) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 38.78% 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 16.4. This represents a change of -790000 shares, which corresponds to a -5.93% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $360.36 million. The average daily volume stands at 768.51K shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $1.20B.

The Beyond Meat Inc with the symbol BYND currently has a short interest of 37.36%. The short interest has changed by -540000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 5.6. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $193.37 million. On an average day, 3.84M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $553.89M.

For the stock Upstart Holdings Inc (UPST), the current short interest is at 37.30%. This represents a significant short interest change of 1240000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +4.70%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 2.8. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $664.26 million.

With the symbol CVNA, the stock currently has a short interest of 16.59%. The short interest has changed by 170000 shares. It would take approximately 3.9 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $2.58 billion. The company boasts an average daily volume of 8.29M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $8.98B.

The stock DM has a current short interest of 34.20%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +1.55% while there was a change of 1070000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 17.4. Trading activity averages at 3.93M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $206.27M.

Biotech Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Viking Therapeutics Inc (VKTX) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Biotech industry, attaining an impressive score of 51.0. The stock's financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast are strong. However, its value, growth, and Piotroski Score are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of profitability, and performance.

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

Another stock in the category, Omeros Corporation (OMER) has the ST Score of 51.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in valuation but weak in financial strength. Profitability, performance, growth, stock sentiment, piotroski score, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Immuron Limited ADR (IMRN) stock has the ST Score of 59.0 which implies that the Biotech company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its performance, financial strength, and stock sentiment. However, it shows neutral outlook in value, profitability, growth, and forecast.

Galapagos NV ADR (GLPG) currently has the ST Score of 56.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Biotech stock's strong points are its valuation, profitability, financial strength, and stock sentiment, while its weak points are its growth, and Piotroski Score. The stock's performance, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.

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