Dear Readers,

Stocks showed minimal change on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average attempted to reach a significant milestone.

Thursday's movements left the Dow less than 100 points away from the 40,000 mark, a level it has never previously achieved. This follows a broad market surge the previous day, which pushed the S&P 500 above 5,300 for the first time.

This performance was supported by the April consumer price index reading, which measures the overall cost of goods and services. The index rose by 0.3% from the previous month, slightly below the Dow Jones estimate of 0.4%. On an annual basis, consumer prices increased by 3.4%.

As of 12:06 PM ET, the Dow was up 87.75 points, or 0.2199%, at $39995.75. The Nasdaq Composite added 54.08 points, or 0.29%, at $18650.731. The S&P 500 rose 7.1299 points, or 0.1343%, at $5315.28. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 7 showed positive movement, with Consumer Defensive leading the way with a 1.09% increase.

Top Movers: Under $10

Cyngn Inc (CYN) is up 47.79% today to trade at the current level of $0.13. This comes after the company shared several commercial and technological accomplishments from the first quarter of 2024, including valuable progress with renowned brands like John Deere and Rivian, the expansion of our distribution network, and key collaborations aimed at advancing our artificial intelligence and robotics technologies.

Scorpius Holdings Inc. (SCPX) zoomed 28.57% in today’s trade to $0.10. The company applauded on-going legislative efforts within the United States Congress to bolster domestic biomanufacturing in the face of vulnerabilities from America’s adversaries.

In current trading, SeaStar Medical Holding Corp (ICU) stock is at $0.41 following the release of first quarter 2024 financial results.

Ascent Solar Technologies Inc (ASTI) rose 43.18% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $0.16 after announcing that it has begun developing prototype solar arrays in collaboration with the University of Stuttgart Institute for Building Energetics, Thermotechnology and Energy Storage (IGTE).

In the current trading session, Blue Star Foods Corp (BSFC) jumped 74.26% to $0.11 over a previous close of $0.06. The company announced 1-for-50 reverse stock split.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) 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 $0.3 per share. It has fixed May 20 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on May 29. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.17 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, CTSH has a trailing yield of 1.66% on the current stock price of $70.35.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is First Hawaiian INC (FHB), having a market capitalization of $2.83B. It will pay a dividend of $0.26 per share, the payment date of which is May 31. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 4.70%.

Shares of Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR) will be the talk of stock market on Friday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.3 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.85 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that MUR has a trailing yield of 1.96% on the current share price of $43.46.

Tomorrow, Phillips 66 (PSX) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from PSX will amount to $1.15 per share. May 20 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for June 03. In the previous year, PSX distributed a total of $4.20 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for PSX stands at 2.87% based on the current stock price of $146.20.

Southern Company (SO) will be paying out a dividend of $0.72 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of May 20. Over the past 12 months, SO has paid out a total of $2.10 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, SO boasts an impressive trailing yield of 2.64% on the current share price of $79.68.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Crypto venture firm Aquarius launches a $600 million multi-strategy fund to boost on-chain liquidity for blockchain projects.

• Param Labs raises $7 million in a significantly oversubscribed investment round for gaming infrastructure development.

• Oobit mobile payment app streamlines transactions with Tether’s USDT and XAUt on The Open Network (TON), enhancing the user experience for merchants.

• Professional investment firms report $3.5 billion worth of Bitcoin ETF ownership in recent 13F filings with the SEC.

• Binance’s security experts develop antidote against address poisoning scams to protect investors from fraudulent activities.

• ShibaSwap, aligned with the Shiba Inu ecosystem, upgrades to the Shibarium blockchain for enhanced decentralized exchange operations.

Most Shorted Stocks

Kohl's Corp. (KSS) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 33.39% 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 6.9. This represents a change of 960000 shares, which corresponds to a +2.71% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $925.36 million. The average daily volume stands at 5.45M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $2.82B.

The Sunnova Energy International Inc with the symbol NOVA currently has a short interest of 32.28%. The short interest has changed by 220000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 3.8. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $182.09 million. On an average day, 10.86M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $563.49M.

For the stock Lemonade Inc (LMND), the current short interest is at 32.91%. This represents a significant short interest change of -40000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -0.24%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 8.9. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $299.41 million.

With the symbol LCID, the stock currently has a short interest of 30.7%. The short interest change is 13.70 million shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of 5.13%. It would take approximately 15.67 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $48.21 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 28.05M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $6.67B.

The stock EVGO has a current short interest of 32.0%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of 10.62% while there was a change of 3.08 million shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 14.02. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $7.12 million. Trading activity averages at 3.17M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $244.33M.

Biotech Stocks to Watch

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

Our ST Score also classifies Kiora Pharmaceuticals Inc (KPRX) as a high-quality Biotech stock today, presenting a Score of 64.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of valuation, profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. The performance, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. (HALO) has the ST Score of 57.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, growth, and stock sentiment but weak in financial strength. Value, performance, piotroski score, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc (VNDA) stock has the ST Score of 51.0 which implies that the Biotech company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its valuation, profitability, financial strength, and stock sentiment, but its weaknesses are in its growth, and Piotroski Score. However, it shows a neutral outlook in performance, and forecast.

Veracyte Inc (VCYT) currently has the ST Score of 58.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Biotech stock's strong points are its profitability, financial strength, and stock sentiment. The stock's value, performance, growth, Piotroski Score, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.