Dear Readers,

On Friday, stock prices are predominantly down as investors evaluate recent producer and consumer-price figures, potentially influencing the Federal Reserve's stance on interest rates. 

As of 11:53 AM ET, the Dow was down -134.84 points, or -0.35%, at $38770.83. The Nasdaq Composite lost -190.2793 points, or -1.0562%, at $17824.527. The S&P 500 declined -31.68 points, or -0.62%, at $5118.79. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 10 showed positive movement, with Real Estate leading the way with a 0.93% increase.

Following hotter-than-anticipated inflation data, U.S. equities have dipped, with the S&P 500 reaching a record peak of 5,175.27 on Tuesday before settling at 5,150.48 by Thursday's close.

Top Movers: Under $10

Verb Technology Company Inc (VERB) is up 312.96% today to trade at the current level of $0.59. This comes after the company announced its latest technological integration achievement with META.

Desktop Metal Inc (DM) zoomed 18.33% in today’s trade to $0.73 after announcing fourth quarter and full year 2023 financial results.

In current trading, Better Therapeutics Inc (BTTX) stock is at $0.07 following the declaration from the company that it is terminating its employees and will explore strategic alternatives, including assignment for the benefit of creditors and/or a wind-down of the Company.

Geron Corp. (GERN) rose 80.49% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $3.29. The company announced that FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted in favor of the clinical benefit/risk profile of Imetelstat for the treatment of Transfusion-Dependent Anemia in Patients with Lower-Risk MDS.

In the current trading session, Akebia Therapeutics Inc. (AKBA) jumped 27.01% to $1.74 over a previous close of $1.37 after reporting fourth quarter and full year 2023 financial results.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

TechnipFMC plc (FTI) is about to trade ex-dividend Monday, meaning that investors who buy the stock after Monday will not be eligible for the next dividend payment. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.05 per share. The company has fixed March 19 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on April 03. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.10 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, FTI has a trailing yield of 0.41% on the current stock price of $24.56.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends on Monday is ST Microelectronics (STM), having a market capitalization of $40.31B. It will pay a dividend of $0.05 per share, the payment date of which is March 26. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 0.53%.

Shares of Amphenol Corp. (APH) will be the talk of stock market on Monday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.22 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of $0.85 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that APH has a trailing yield of 0.78% on the current share price of $109.27.

Franklin Universal Trust (FT) is also set to go ex-dividend on Monday. The next dividend payment from FT will amount to $0.04 per share. March 19 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for March 28. In the previous year, FT distributed a total of $0.42 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for FT stands at 6.52% based on the current stock price of $6.50.

Avient Corp (AVNT) will be paying out a dividend of $0.26 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of March 19. Over the past 12 months, AVNT has paid out a total of $0.75 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, AVNT boasts an impressive trailing yield of 1.83% on the current share price of $41.09.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Bitcoin surpasses gold in investor portfolio allocation, adjusted for volatility, per JP Morgan analysis.

• PancakeSwap unveils version four codebase and white paper.

• NFPrompt, a Binance-incubated platform, suffers a hack resulting in user and treasury fund losses.

• Hong Kong's SFC warns against cryptocurrency exchange MEXC.

• Binance Labs transitions into an independent venture capital arm.

• Vitalik Buterin advocates for a focus on building layer-2 decentralized applications post-Dencun hard fork.

Most Shorted Stocks

Maxeon Solar Technologies Ltd (MAXN) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 34.03% 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 4.2. This represents a change of 1050000 shares, which corresponds to a +10.98% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $33.1 million. The average daily volume stands at 2.56M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $164.94M.

The Intuitive Machines Inc with the symbol LUNR currently has a short interest of 34.06%. The short interest has changed by 1450000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 0.6. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $26.96 million. On an average day, 8.94M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $121.09M.

With the symbol IRBT, the stock currently has a short interest of 33.46%. The short interest change is 160000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +1.79%. It would take approximately 3.7 days to cover all the short positions. The company boasts an average daily volume of 2.69M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $265.34M.

The stock MPW has a current short interest of 32.74%. The short interest percentage has experienced decrease of -0.61% while there was a change of -1210000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 8.6. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $38.81 million. Trading activity averages at 22.55M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $2.56B.

Energy Stocks to Watch

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

Our ST Score also classifies Torm Plc (TRMD) as a high-quality Energy stock today, presenting a Score of 59.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, financial strength, and stock sentiment. The value, performance, growth, Piotroski Score, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Frontline Plc (FRO) has the ST Score of 58.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, financial strength, and stock sentiment. Value, performance, growth, piotroski score, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Scorpio Tankers Inc (STNG) stock has the ST Score of 62.0 which implies that the Energy company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its valuation, profitability, financial strength, and stock sentiment. However, it shows neutral outlook in performance, growth, Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Viper Energy Inc (VNOM) currently has the ST Score of 48.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Energy stock's strong points are its profitability, and financial strength, while its weak points are its value, and stock sentiment. The stock's performance, growth, Piotroski Score, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.

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