Dear Readers,

On Tuesday, the stock market saw little change as the recent rally paused, with investors awaiting upcoming key data releases. This pause followed a down day on Wall Street, which saw the Dow and S&P 500 retreat from recent record highs following Nvidia's impressive earnings report.

Data from the U.S. Department of Commerce revealed that orders for durable goods fell more than anticipated in January, mainly due to a significant decrease in demand for transportation equipment. Additionally, the latest consumer confidence figures dropped amid concerns about a potential slowdown in the labor market and a politically divided landscape, according to a Conference Board report. The Consumer Confidence Index dipped to 106.7, below both January's revised figure of 110.9 and the Dow Jones estimate of 115.1.

These developments precede the release of January's closely monitored personal consumption expenditure price index and personal income data scheduled for Thursday. Investors will closely monitor these releases for insights into the economy's health and clues about future monetary policy decisions.

As of 11:58 AM ET, the Dow was down -174.26 points, or -0.446%, at $38894.98. The Nasdaq Composite lost -4.66 points, or -0.03%, at $17928.6686. The S&P 500 declined -0.8 points, or -0.02%, at $5068.74. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 7 showed negative movement, with Real Estate leading the way with a -0.35% decrease.

Top Movers: Under $10

Codexis Inc. (CDXS) is up 32.86% today to trade at the current level of $4.25. This comes after the company announced that it has entered into an agreement with Roche for an exclusive, global license for the Company’s newly engineered double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) ligase for next-generation sequencing (NGS) library preparation and the Company’s EvoT4™ DNA ligase.

Gaotu Techedu Inc ADR (GOTU) zoomed 30.45% in today’s trade to $7.75 after announcing its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

In current trading, AdaptHealth Corp (AHCO) stock is at $9.60 following the release of its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

Ault Alliance Inc (AULT) rose 23.06% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $0.48. The company declared record preliminary 2023 revenue of $153 million, up 30% from 2022.

In the current trading session, Pyxis Oncology Inc (PYXS) jumped 22.38% to $5.85 over a previous close of $4.78 after announcing $50 million private placement.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

CSX Corp. (CSX) 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 $0.12 per share. It has fixed February 29 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on March 15. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.44 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, CSX has a trailing yield of 1.16% on the current stock price of $38.08.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Union Pacific Corp. (UNP), having a market capitalization of $155.63B. It will pay a dividend of $1.3 per share, the payment date of which is March 29. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 2.04%.

Shares of Corning, Inc. (GLW) will be the talk of stock market on Wednesday 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 $1.12 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that GLW has a trailing yield of 3.44% on the current share price of $32.53.

Tomorrow, Barrick Gold Corp. (GOLD) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from GOLD will amount to $0.07 per share. February 29 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for March 15. In the previous year, GOLD distributed a total of $0.40 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for GOLD stands at 2.74% based on the current stock price of $14.59.

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) will be paying out a dividend of $2.75 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of February 29. Over the past 12 months, GS has paid out a total of $10.50 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, GS boasts an impressive trailing yield of 2.69% on the current share price of $390.36.

Crypto Market Highlights

Most Shorted Stocks

Lovesac Company (LOVE) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 27.80% 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 11.7. This represents a change of 140000 shares, which corresponds to a +3.88% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $85.84 million. The average daily volume stands at 311.25K shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $354.57M.

The Kohl's Corp. with the symbol KSS currently has a short interest of 26.84%. The short interest has changed by -1780000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 4.9. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $835.14 million. On an average day, 5.37M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $3.17B.

For the stock Microvision Inc. (MVIS), the current short interest is at 26.32%. This represents a significant short interest change of -670000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of 1.32%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 21.8. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $108.0 million.

With the symbol CHRS, the stock currently has a short interest of 25.26%. The short interest change is 700000 shares. It would take approximately 4.1 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $70.89 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 6.11M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $281.18M.

The stock AVXL has a current short interest of 24.52%. The short interest percentage has experienced decrease of -2.57% while there was a change of -530000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 13.9. Trading activity averages at 1.47M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $408.48M.

EV Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Li Auto Inc ADR (LI) emerges as a high-quality stock in the EV industry, attaining an impressive score of 66.0. The stock's profitability, growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score are strong. However, its value are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of performance, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Honda Motor ADR (HMC) as a high-quality EV stock today, presenting a Score of 61.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of valuation, profitability, performance, and stock sentiment. However, it has weak growth, and financial strength. The Piotroski Score, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Cenntro Electric Group Limited (CENN) has the ST Score of 51.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in financial strength, and stock sentiment but weak in profitability, and performance. Value, growth, piotroski score, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Electrameccanica Vehicles Corp (SOLO) stock has the ST Score of 50.0 which implies that the EV company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its valuation, financial strength, and stock sentiment, but its weaknesses are in its performance. However, it shows neutral outlook in profitability, growth, Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) currently has the ST Score of 50.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The EV stock's strong points are its profitability, and stock sentiment, while its weak points are its performance, and growth. The stock's value, financial strength, Piotroski Score, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.