Dear Readers,

Stocks rose on Tuesday as investors awaited clearer signals on the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy actions, following an unexpected increase in April's producer price index (PPI). The PPI for April exceeded forecasts, rising by 0.5% compared to the 0.3% rise anticipated by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. This heightened inflation figure tempered expectations that the Fed might start reducing interest rates later this year.

As of 12:29 PM ET, the Dow was up 2.6367 points, or 0.0067%, at $39434.15. The Nasdaq Composite added 18.6855 points, or 0.1027%, at $18217.299. The S&P 500 declined -0.06 points, or -0.0011%, at $5221.35. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 7 showed negative movement, with Energy leading the way with a -0.82% decrease.

Despite an initial dip in stock prices after the inflation report, market fluctuations remained moderate. This was partly due to a downward revision in March’s wholesale prices, which indicated a 0.1% decrease, helping to alleviate fears of persistently high inflation. Investors also appeared cautious, possibly waiting for the upcoming consumer price index report on Wednesday before making significant moves.

Following the release of April's PPI data, bond markets reacted, sending yields on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note briefly above 4.5%. However, yields later subsided slightly.

Top Movers: Under $10

Cheetah Net Supply Chain Service Inc (CTNT) is up 201.68% today to trade at the current level of $3.59. This comes after the company announced pricing of $8.19 million follow-on public offering.

Sunpower Corp (SPWR) zoomed 89.09% in today’s trade to $5.20 in the meme-stock frenzy.

In current trading, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (AMC) stock is at $7.76 after Keith Gill, also known online as Roaring Kitty, made his return to social media after a three-year hiatus.

Delcath Systems Inc (DCTH) rose 32.59% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $7.16 after reporting first quarter 2024 results.

In the current trading session, Plug Power Inc (PLUG) jumped 27.93% to $3.70 over a previous close of $2.89 after receiving a conditional commitment for an up to $1.66 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy’s (“DOE”) Loan Programs Office to finance the development, construction, and ownership of up to six green hydrogen production facilities.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) 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 $0.07 per share. It has fixed May 16 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on June 05. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.22 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, BTU has a trailing yield of 1.00% on the current stock price of $22.56.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK), having a market capitalization of $11.76B. It will pay a dividend of $0.71 per share, the payment date of which is June 05. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 2.53%.

Shares of Centerpoint Energy Inc. (CNP) will be the talk of the stock market on Wednesday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.2 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.78 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that CNP has a trailing yield of 2.64% on the current share price of $29.58.

Tomorrow, LKQ Corp (LKQ) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from LKQ will amount to $0.3 per share. May 16 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for May 30. In the previous year, LKQ distributed a total of $1.15 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for LKQ stands at 2.59% based on the current stock price of $44.32.

Lilly(Eli) & Co (LLY) will be paying out a dividend of $1.3 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of May 16. Over the past 12 months, LLY has paid out a total of $3.56 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, LLY boasts an impressive trailing yield of 0.47% on the current share price of $755.22.

Crypto Market Highlights

• European asset manager CoinShares achieves record performance in Q1 2024, attributed to market recovery post Bitcoin ETF debut.

• Former CFTC Chair J. Christopher Giancarlo, 'Crypto Dad,' joins Paxos board of directors.

• Founders Fund and Vitalik Buterin lead $70 million fundraising for Polymarket, enabling political event betting.

• Deutsche Bank collaborates with Singapore's central bank on asset tokenization.

• Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev found guilty of money laundering, raising concerns for open-source developers.

• Vitalik Buterin proposes a new Ethereum Improvement Protocol (EIP-7706) for the transaction call data gas model.

Most Shorted Stocks

Beyond Meat Inc (BYND) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 41.20% 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 7.1. This represents a change of 2460000 shares, which corresponds to a +10.74% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $253.6 million. The average daily volume stands at 3.68M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $648.40M.

The Trupanion Inc with the symbol TRUP currently has a short interest of 39.80%. The short interest has changed by -320000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 16.7. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $409.99 million. On an average day, 796.62K shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $1.39B.

For the stock Cutera Inc (CUTR), the current short interest is at 37.61%. This represents a significant short interest change of -520000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -6.48%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 7.2. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $19.73 million.

With the symbol IBRX, the stock currently has a short interest of 40.08%. The short interest change is 300000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +0.55%. It would take approximately 7.8 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $63.6 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 7.36M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $5.74B.

The stock MPW has a current short interest of 37.84%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of +1.35% while there was a change of 2960000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 11.8. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $329.19 million. Trading activity averages at 19.55M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $3.58B.

EV Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Cirrus Logic, Inc. (CRUS) emerges as a high-quality stock in the EV industry, attaining an impressive score of 63.0. The stock's profitability, financial strength, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score are strong. However, its growth is weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of value, performance, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Enersys (ENS) as a high-quality EV stock today, presenting a Score of 57.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak growth and financial strength. The value, performance, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (SWKS) has the ST Score of 54.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in valuation, profitability, and financial strength but weak in growth. Performance, stock sentiment, piotroski score, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) stock has the ST Score of 57.0 which implies that the EV company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, and financial strength. However, it shows a neutral outlook in value, performance, growth, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Toyota Motor Corporation ADR (TM) currently has the ST Score of 54.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The EV stock's strong points are its profitability, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its growth, and financial strength. The stock's value, performance, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.