Lunchtime Highlights: Big Energy Climbers & $10 Deals

Stocks slipped Monday as investors continued selling off key tech stocks driving the bull market.

As of 11:36 AM ET, the Dow was up 149.3203 points, or 0.356%, at $42087.77. The Nasdaq Composite lost -257.61 points, or -1.24%, at $20589.9729. The S&P 500 declined -28.4502 points, or -0.4883%, at $5798.59. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 6 showed positive movement, with Materials leading the way with a 1.01% increase.

One major factor behind the decline is the sharp rise in bond yields. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to its highest level since November 2023, fueled by Friday’s stronger-than-expected jobs report, which raised doubts about the Federal Reserve’s plans for future rate cuts.

Markets are now looking to the start of the fourth-quarter earnings season to provide some stability. Major banks including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase are set to report on Wednesday, followed by Morgan Stanley and Bank of America on Thursday.

Top Movers: Under $10

Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp (PHIO) is up 432.54% today to trade at the current level of $9.00. This comes after the company announced pathologic responses for patients enrolled in the 2nd cohort, which includes 2 patients with a complete response or 100% tumor clearance.

Salarius Pharmaceuticals Inc (SLRX) zoomed 273.17% in today’s trade to $5.84 after announcing the signing of a definitive agreement with Decoy Therapeutics under which Decoy Therapeutics will merge with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Salarius Pharmaceuticals, subject to the closing conditions set forth in the definitive agreement.

In current trading, Sage Therapeutics Inc (SAGE) stock is at $7.43 following news that Biogen (BIIB) is offering to buy the rest of the Sage stock it doesn't already own for $7.22 per share.

Elevation Oncology Inc (ELEV) rose 33.10% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $0.87 after announcing program updates and upcoming milestones.

In the current trading session, Snow Lake Resources Ltd (LITM) jumped 45.68% to $0.99 over a previous close of $0.68 after announcing the discovery of elevated gallium values from bedrock grab samples at the Mound Lake Property in Ontario, which it holds in partnership with Free Battery Metal Limited.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Quest Diagnostics, Inc (DGX) 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 $0.75 per share. It has fixed January 14 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on January 29. Last year, the company distributed a total of $2.96 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, DGX has a trailing yield of 1.92% on the current stock price of $153.80.

Shares of Apartment Investment & Management Co (AIV) will be the talk of stock market on Tuesday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.6 per share.

A-Mark Precious Metals Inc (AMRK) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from AMRK will amount to $0.2 per share. January 14 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for January 28. In the previous year, AMRK distributed a total of $0.80 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for AMRK stands at 2.88% based on the current stock price of $27.74.

GE HealthCare Technologies Inc (GEHC) will be paying out a dividend of $0.04 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of January 14. Over the past 12 months, GEHC has paid out a total of $0.12 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, GEHC boasts an impressive trailing yield of 0.14% on the current share price of $84.22.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Tether, the stablecoin issuer, will relocate its company and subsidiaries to El Salvador after securing an operating license in the country.

• MoonPay acquired blockchain-based payment processor Helio for $175 million to expand its payments infrastructure.

• MicroStrategy's Bitcoin holdings surpassed 450,000 after a $243 million investment, bringing their total investment to $28.2 billion at an average price of $62,691 per Bitcoin.

• FTX plans to distribute over $1.2 billion in repayments to users affected by the exchange's bankruptcy, starting the process after more than two years of delayed access to funds.

• World (formerly Worldcoin) has verified 10 million human beings on its digital identity network.

Most Shorted Stocks

Auddia Inc (AUUD) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 72.16% 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 1.2. This represents a change of 454800 shares, which corresponds to a 411.21% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $0.27 million. The average daily volume stands at 475.66K shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $2.70M.

The Tian Ruixiang Holdings Ltd with the symbol TIRX currently has a short interest of 68.45%. The short interest has changed by 195900 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 1.5. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $0.32 million. On an average day, 181.54K shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $3.66M.

For the stock B. Riley Financial Inc (RILY), the current short interest is at 64.63%. This represents a significant short interest change of 220000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +2.24%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 7.1. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $42.21 million.

With the symbol PLCE, the stock currently has a short interest of 62.50%. The short interest change is -10000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -0.33%. It would take approximately 6.6 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $100.2 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 461.92K shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $127.47M.

The stock LAES has a current short interest of 59.43%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +46.00% while there was a change of 4140000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 0.4. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $12.81 million. Trading activity averages at 35.47M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $410.38M.

Energy Stocks to Watch

Cortigent, Inc. (CRGT) is set to join the NASDAQ on January 15. They are offering shares at a fixed price of $$10.00. They are offering 1,500,000 shares, with an estimated deal size of $15.00M.

Flowco Holdings Inc. (FLOC) will be entering the market with its IPO on January 16, on the NYSE exchange. They are offering shares in the price range of $21.00 to $23.00. They plan to offer 17,800,000 shares, targeting a deal size of $391.60M.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading. Good luck out there!

Best Regards,

Stocks Telegraph Team

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