Midday Spotlight: Biotech Standouts & $10 Rising Stars

The S&P 500 fluctuated on Thursday as investors remained cautious ahead of September's payrolls report amid escalating Middle East tensions. October trading has been rocky, with fears over the Israel-Iran conflict dampening market sentiment. After Tuesday’s sharp sell-off following Iran’s missile attack on Israel, investors are bracing for further uncertainty as Israel begins a ground operation into Lebanon.

Despite the tensions, tech and energy stocks helped the broader market at times on Thursday, pushing the S&P 500 into positive territory briefly. Confidence was also boosted by a strong service sector report, marking its best performance in over a year and a half.

In labor news, weekly jobless claims came in slightly higher than expected, hinting at the state of the labor market ahead of Friday’s crucial September payrolls report.

At 12:01 PM ET, the Dow was down -154.2109 points, or -0.3655%, at $42042.31. The Nasdaq Composite added 36.52 points, or 0.18%, at $19839.1009. The S&P 500 declined -3.19 points, or -0.0559%, at $5706.36. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 7 showed positive movement, with Utilities leading the way with a 1.04% increase.

Top Movers: Under $10

Elevai Labs Inc. (ELAB) is up 60.68% today to trade at the current level of $0.14. This comes after the company announced the filing of two novel patent applications for its lead candidate, EL-22, aimed at treating muscle loss in obese patients.

EVgo Inc (EVGO) zoomed 54.85% in today’s trade to $6.09 after securing $1.05 billion government loan pledge.

In current trading, Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc (VRCA) stock is at $1.45 after announcing restructuring of commercial organization.

Theriva Biologics Inc (TOVX) rose 30.00% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $1.61 after reporting positive results from the Data and Safety Monitoring Committee's review of its trial of SYN-004 (ribaxamase) to prevent acute graft-versus-host disease in transplant patients.

In the current trading session, Rezolve AI Ltd (RZLV) jumped 34.24% to $9.15 over a previous close of $6.82. The company announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft to empower retailers with advanced capabilities for digital engagement.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

American Express Co. (AXP) 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 $0.7 per share. It has fixed October 04 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on November 08. Last year, the company distributed a total of $2.60 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, AXP has a trailing yield of 0.97% on the current stock price of $268.92.

Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) will be the talk of stock market on Friday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $1.25 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $4.40 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that JPM has a trailing yield of 2.14% on the current share price of $205.42.

Tomorrow, Netapp Inc (NTAP) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from NTAP will amount to $0.52 per share. October 04 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for October 23. In the previous year, NTAP distributed a total of $2.02 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for NTAP stands at 1.65% based on the current stock price of $122.23.

Sysco Corp. (SYY) will be paying out a dividend of $0.51 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of October 04. Over the past 12 months, SYY has paid out a total of $2.01 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, SYY boasts an impressive trailing yield of 2.62% on the current share price of $76.77.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Ripple partners with a major Brazilian crypto exchange to enable cross-border payments using crypto.

• Transak obtains a Money Transmitter License (MTL) from the Alabama Securities Commission.

• Visa launches the Visa Tokenized Asset Platform (VTAP) for digital asset issuance and management.

• Binance report highlights significant risks in the crypto market due to overvaluation and centralization of token ownership, threatening long-term stability.

• Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission introduces new AML regulations for local virtual asset service providers to be implemented by 2025.

  Most Shorted Stocks

Microvision Inc. (MVIS) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 27.07% 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 29.4. This represents a change of 210000 shares, which corresponds to a +0.38% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $63.22 million. The average daily volume stands at 1.83M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $240.39M.

The Anavex Life Sciences Corporation with the symbol AVXL currently has a short interest of 23.17%. The short interest has changed by 220000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 20.1. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $110.01 million. On an average day, 919.78K shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $475.89M.

For the stock Sunrun Inc (RUN), the current short interest is at 21.27%. This represents a significant short interest change of 860000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +1.84%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 4.2. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $800.27 million.

With the symbol NVAX, the stock currently has a short interest of 23.88%. The short interest change is 1920000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +6.07%. It would take approximately 5.0 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $703.26 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 6.75M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $2.37B.

The stock ARQT has a current short interest of 21.47%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +0.73% while there was a change of 180000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 10.5. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $348.38 million. Trading activity averages at 2.26M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $1.21B.

Biotech Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Kiora Pharmaceuticals Inc (KPRX) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Biotech industry, attaining an impressive score of 67. The stock's profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score are strong. However, its growth are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Rigel Pharmaceuticals (RIGL) as a high-quality Biotech stock today, presenting a Score of 66. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, and growth. However, it has weak financial strength. The stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Connect Biopharma Holdings Ltd ADR (CNTB) has the ST Score of 63, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, growth, and financial strength. Stock sentiment, piotroski score, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (LGND) stock has the ST Score of 63 which implies that the Biotech company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. However, it shows neutral outlook in growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Acasti Pharma Inc (ACST) currently has the ST Score of 62, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Biotech stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, and financial strength, while its weak points are its Piotroski Score. The stock's growth, stock sentiment, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.

Best Regards,
Stocks Telegraph Team