Dear Readers,

Thursday saw a surge in stock prices as investors analyzed the recent Federal Reserve decision and insights on interest rates provided by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.

The next pivotal event for markets awaits on Friday with the release of the U.S. jobs report for April.

Chip stocks experienced a rebound on Thursday, buoyed by impressive results from Qualcomm. The iShares Semiconductor ETF recorded a 1.6% increase. Qualcomm shares soared by 8.5% after the company surpassed expectations with its fiscal second-quarter earnings.

However, the semiconductor sector dragged down the broader market on Wednesday due to underwhelming reports from Advanced Micro Devices and Super Micro Computer.

As of 12:33 PM ET, the Dow was up 122.06 points, or 0.322%, at $38025.36. The Nasdaq Composite added 94.54 points, or 0.55%, at $17413.0931. The S&P 500 rose 14.58 points, or 0.2905%, at $5032.98. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 6 showed negative movement, with Materials leading the way with a 1.96% decrease.

Top Movers: Under $10

Emergent Biosolutions Inc (EBS) is up 104.21% today to trade at the current level of $3.94. This comes after the company declared strong first quarter 2024 earnings results.

XBP Europe Holdings Inc (XBP) zoomed 56.49% in today’s trade to $2.05 after announcing that it has awarded a transformation project for His Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO).

In current trading, Safe & Green Holdings Corp (SGBX) stock is at $2.90 after reporting its collaboration and sales of modular units to Britten Inc.

Gannett Co Inc. (GCI) rose 29.25% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $3.12. The company reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024.

In the current trading session, Nuwellis Inc (NUWE) jumped 50.30% to $0.20 over a previous close of $0.13 after announcing that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a patent application related to its innovative pediatric Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) device branded Vivian™.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Ameriprise Financial Inc (AMP) 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 $1.48 per share. It has fixed May 06 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on May 17. Last year, the company distributed a total of $5.40 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, AMP has a trailing yield of 1.30% on the current stock price of $414.23.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Baker Hughes Co (BKR), having a market capitalization of $31.74B. It will pay a dividend of $0.21 per share, the payment date of which is May 16. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 2.52%.

Shares of Citigroup Inc (C) will be the talk of stock market on Friday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.53 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $1.59 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that C has a trailing yield of 2.60% on the current share price of $61.21.

Eaton Corporation plc (ETN) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from ETN will amount to $0.94 per share. May 06 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for May 24. In the previous year, ETN distributed a total of $3.52 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for ETN stands at 1.13% based on the current stock price of $311.66.

Lazard Inc. (LAZ) will be paying out a dividend of $0.5 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of May 06. Over the past 12 months, LAZ has paid out a total of $2.00 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, LAZ boasts an impressive trailing yield of 5.10% on the current share price of $39.20.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Trial of Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan postponed until May 17 after a Nigerian court delay.

• Stronghold Digital Mining mulls selling company to maximize shareholder value, says Q1 report.

• MoonPay expands crypto options and integrates PayPal transactions for US users on May 2.

• Stacks Bitcoin layer-2 network hits all-time high in active users, driven by DeFi interest.

• Inflows from Hong Kong spot Bitcoin ETFs insufficient to cover outflows from US-based ETFs.

• Indian Enforcement Directorate seizes $10.5M from E-Nuggets scam with help from Binance, ZebPay, and WazirX.

• FBI arrests New York resident for $43M Ponzi scheme; alleges sophisticated orchestration.

Most Shorted Stocks

Zynex Inc (ZYXI) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 33.01% 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 26.7. This represents a change of -20000 shares, which corresponds to a -0.35% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $68.13 million. The average daily volume stands at 193.36K shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $382.50M.

The Lemonade Inc with the symbol LMND currently has a short interest of 33.12%. The short interest has changed by 60000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 9.3. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $282.23 million. On an average day, 1.88M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $1.19B.

For the stock Novavax, Inc. (NVAX), the current short interest is at 36.6%. This represents a significant short interest change of -4.21 million shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -8.76%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 10.64. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $19.93 million.

With the symbol KSS, the stock currently has a short interest of 32.65%. The short interest change is 5490000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +18.36%. It would take approximately 6.4 days to cover all the short positions. The company boasts an average daily volume of 5.42M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $2.69B.

The stock SAVA has a current short interest of 29.69%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of +8.91% while there was a change of 1050000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 17.7. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $780.57 million. Trading activity averages at 764.53K shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $953.22M.

Biotech Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (LGND) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Biotech industry, attaining an impressive score of 60.0. The stock's profitability, financial strength, and stock sentiment are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of value, performance, growth, Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies AvroBio Inc (AVRO) as a high-quality Biotech stock today, presenting a Score of 59.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of valuation, profitability, performance, and financial strength. The growth, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Genmab ADR (GMAB) has the ST Score of 59.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, growth, and financial strength but weak in value. Performance, stock sentiment, piotroski score, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Amylyx Pharmaceuticals Inc (AMLX) 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 valuation and profitability, but its weaknesses are in its forecast. However, it shows a neutral outlook in performance, growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score.

BioNTech SE ADR (BNTX) currently has the ST Score of 57.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Biotech stock's strong points are its valuation, profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its growth, and stock sentiment. The stock's performance, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.