Market Rundown: Biotech Leaders & Undervalued $10 Opportunities

Stocks edged lower Thursday morning as U.S. markets reopened following the Christmas holiday. Big Tech stocks were among the biggest drags, with semiconductor giant Nvidia slipping 0.5%, Meta Platforms down 0.8%, Amazon falling 0.7%, and Netflix leading the losses with a 1.6% decline.

As of 11:23 AM ET, the Dow was up 3.25 points, or 0.0075%, at $43300.29. The Nasdaq Composite lost -24.27 points, or -0.1113%, at $21773.3799. The S&P 500 declined -2.62 points, or -0.04%, at $6037.43. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 7 showed positive movement, with Health Care leading the way with a 0.72% increase.

Despite the dip, 2024 has been a standout year for the U.S. market. The S&P 500 is up approximately 26% year-to-date and remains close to its all-time high set earlier this month—the 57th record high for the index this year.

Looking ahead, Wall Street is gearing up for a series of economic updates next week, including reports on pending home sales, home prices, U.S. construction spending, and manufacturing activity, which could provide fresh insights into the economy as the year closes.

Top Movers: Under $10

SciSparc Ltd (SPRC) is up 105.24% today to trade at the current level of $0.45. This comes after the company disclosed that AutoMax Motors Ltd., an Israeli automotive importer and distributor with which it has a merger agreement, has received its $13 million first delivery of JAC vehicles from Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Co., Ltd.

Zoomcar Holdings Inc (ZCAR) zoomed 84.69% in today’s trade to $2.64 after announcing that it reported a 43% year-on-year growth in bookings for November, driven primarily by a surge in demand during the wedding season.

In current trading, SEALSQ Corp (LAES) stock is at $8.10 following the launch of SEALQUANTUM.com Lab, a state-of-the-art research and innovation hub dedicated to supporting organizations in transitioning to quantum-safe encryption.

Color Star Technology Co Ltd (ADD) rose 44.91% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $3.13. The company announced that His Highness Shaikh Humaid Abdulla Rashed Ahmed Almualla, a prominent member of the United Arab Emirates royal family, has officially joined the company as an independent director of the Company’s board of directors.

In the current trading session, Coeptis Therapeutics Holdings Inc (COEP) jumped 45.92% to $0.21 over a previous close of $0.14 after announcing the completion of its acquisition of the NexGenAI Affiliates Network platform alongside the official launch of Coeptis Technologies.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Flowserve Corp (FLS) 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 $0.21 per share. It has fixed December 27 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on January 10. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.83 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, FLS has a trailing yield of 1.42% on the current stock price of $58.44.

Shares of Medtronic Plc (MDT) will be the talk of stock market on Friday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.7 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $2.78 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that MDT has a trailing yield of 3.41% on the current share price of $81.57.

Prospect Capital Corp (PSEC) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from PSEC will amount to $0.04 per share. January 29 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for February 19. In the previous year, PSEC distributed a total of $0.71 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for PSEC stands at 16.38% based on the current stock price of $4.30.

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc (XRAY) will be paying out a dividend of $0.16 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of December 27. Over the past 12 months, XRAY has paid out a total of $0.62 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, XRAY boasts an impressive trailing yield of 3.22% on the current share price of $19.24.

Crypto Market Highlights

• KULR Technology Group, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has acquired 217.18 Bitcoin for around $21 million, launching its Bitcoin treasury.

• Industry executives suggest that Brazil's potential decision to ban stablecoin transfers to self-custodial wallets would lead to a further shift towards decentralization.

• Moo Deng, the viral pygmy hippopotamus, was adopted by Vitalik Buterin, the well-known cryptocurrency founder.

• Bitcoin network's Runes protocol saw a notable decline in transactions during December, dropping significantly from its peak in earlier months of 2024.

• Governments around the world are pursuing North Korean hackers, who are responsible for over half of the cryptocurrency thefts in 2024.

Most Shorted Stocks

The Palisade Bio Inc with the symbol PALI currently has a short interest of 67.65%. The short interest has changed by 1732400 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 1.5. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $3.16 million. On an average day, 1.24M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $4.75M.

For the stock B. Riley Financial Inc (RILY), the current short interest is at 63.22%. This represents a significant short interest change of 140000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +1.44%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 6.2. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $48.07 million.

With the symbol PLCE, the stock currently has a short interest of 62.70%. The short interest change is 280000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +10.07%. It would take approximately 5.1 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $101.45 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 551.50K shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $132.00M.

The stock CRVO has a current short interest of 48.41%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +34.90% while there was a change of 670000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 6.9. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $7.04 million. Trading activity averages at 381.37K shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $18.98M.

Biotech Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Theratechnologies Inc (THTX) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Biotech industry, attaining an impressive score of 68. The stock's profitability, performance, growth, and financial strength are strong. However, its stock sentiment, and forecast are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of Piotroski Score.

Our ST Score also classifies Halozyme Therapeutics Inc (HALO) as a high-quality Biotech stock today, presenting a Score of 62. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. The growth, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Oramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc (ORMP) has the ST Score of 62, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, and financial strength but weak in stock sentiment, and forecast. Growth, and piotroski score suggest a neutral outlook.

Akebia Therapeutics Inc (AKBA) stock has the ST Score of 61 which implies that the Biotech company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its financial strength. However, it shows neutral outlook in growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

United Therapeutics Corp (UTHR) currently has the ST Score of 61, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Biotech stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its financial strength. The stock's growth, stock sentiment, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.

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

Best Regards,

Stocks Telegraph Team

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