Dear Readers,

Stocks surged on Monday, extending gains from the previous session, as traders raise expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut.

The positive momentum follows Friday's release of nonfarm payrolls data, which revealed weaker-than-anticipated job growth in April and a rise in unemployment, alleviating concerns about an overheating economy.

Investors are closely watching for insights into future Fed actions, with speeches scheduled from Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin and New York Fed President John Williams on Monday.

Additionally, Berkshire Hathaway, led by Warren Buffett, announced a nearly 40% increase in year-over-year operating earnings for the first quarter during its annual shareholder meeting held on Saturday.

As of 12:34 PM ET, the Dow was up 43.44 points, or 0.1123%, at $38719.13. The Nasdaq Composite added 98.4551 points, or 0.5503%, at $17989.25. The S&P 500 rose 28.9897 points, or 0.5653%, at $5156.78. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 7 showed negative movement, with Real Estate leading the way with a -1.74% decrease.

Top Movers: Under $10

Mullen Automotive Inc (MULN) is up 34.19% today to trade at the current level of $5.59. This comes after the company signed an agreement with California based and HVIP approved, National Auto Fleet Group.

NRX Pharmaceuticals Inc (NRXP) zoomed 37.14% in today’s trade to $2.88 after announcing a statistically significant safety advantage of NRX-101 compared to the standard of care comparator in its recently completed clinical trial in patients with suicidal bipolar depression.

In current trading, TC BioPharm (Holdings) plc ADR (TCBP) stock is at $1.94 after announcing a major deal to acquire another company.

Outset Medical Inc (OM) rose 30.10% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $4.09 after announcing that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted 510(k) clearance of TabloCartTM with prefiltration, an innovative optional accessory for the Tablo® Hemodialysis System.

In the current trading session, Biocryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. (BCRX) jumped 20.11% to $5.34 over a previous close of $4.45. The company reported first-quarter 2024 financial results.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

EQT Corp (EQT) 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 $0.16 per share. The company has fixed May 08 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on June 01. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.61 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, EQT has a trailing yield of 1.51% on the current stock price of $40.76.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN), having a market capitalization of $164.07B. It will pay a dividend of $1.3 per share, the payment date of which is May 21. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 2.13%.

Shares of Ford Motor Co. (F) will be the talk of stock market on Tuesday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.15 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of $0.45 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that F has a trailing yield of 3.56% on the current share price of $12.51.

Sensata Technologies Holding Plc (ST) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from ST will amount to $0.12 per share. May 08 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for May 22. In the previous year, ST distributed a total of $0.48 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for ST stands at 1.16% based on the current stock price of $41.39.

Main Street Capital Corporation (MAIN) will be paying out a dividend of $0.24 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of May 08. Over the past 12 months, MAIN has paid out a total of $2.55 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, MAIN boasts an impressive trailing yield of 5.03% on the current share price of $50.69.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Hermetica launches first-ever Bitcoin-backed synthetic USD with yield generation in Bitcoin-native DeFi.

• SEC issues Wells notice to Robinhood over its U.S.-based crypto business.

• Hong Kong sees expanded crypto trading options as Tiger Brokers adds cryptocurrency support to Tiger Trade app.

• Bitcoin Runes overtakes original Bitcoin, Ordinals, and BRC-20 tokens in daily transactions, reclaiming the top position in the Bitcoin network.

• Coinbase and CEO Brian Armstrong face a class-action lawsuit alleging investor deception and illegal business model.

Most Shorted Stocks

Maison Solutions Inc. (MSS) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 30.67% 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 1.0. This represents a change of 4300 shares, which corresponds to a +2.20% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $0.22 million. The average daily volume stands at 188.97K shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $15.27M.

The Enovix Corporation with the symbol ENVX currently has a short interest of 30.55%. The short interest has changed by 5110000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 9.6. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $435.97 million. On an average day, 5.05M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $1.77B.

For the stock Plug Power Inc (PLUG), the current short interest is at 26.63%. This represents a significant short interest change of 1590000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +0.87%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 4.6. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $520.86 million.

With the symbol ALLO, the stock currently has a short interest of 29.95%. The short interest change is 740000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +2.42%. It would take approximately 13.9 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $554.23 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 2.28M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $511.31M.

The stock CVNA has a current short interest of 14.15%. The short interest percentage has experienced a decrease of -2.02% while there was a change of -590000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 4.6. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $4.01 billion. Trading activity averages at 6.62M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $14.87B.

Upcoming IPOs

Nano Nuclear Energy Inc. (NNE) is all set for its debut on the NASDAQ exchange on May 07. They are offering shares in the price range of $4.00 to $6.00. With a total of 3,000,000 shares available, the company aims to raise approximately $15.00M through this IPO.

Silvaco Group, Inc. (SVCO) will be entering the market with its IPO on May 09, on the NASDAQ exchange. They are offering shares in the price range of $17.00 to $19.00. They plan to offer 6,000,000 shares, targeting a deal size of $108.00M.

Proficient Auto Logistics, Inc. (PAL) is also scheduled to make its debut on the NASDAQ exchange on May 09. They are offering shares in the price range of $14.00 to $16.00. The IPO includes 14,333,333 shares, aiming for a deal size of $215.00M.

ZEEKR Intelligent Technology Holding Limited (ZK) is set to join the NYSE on May 10. They are offering shares in the price range of $18.00 to $21.00. They are offering 17,500,000 shares, with an estimated deal size of $341.25M.

Lirum Therapeutics, Inc. (LRTX) is preparing for its highly anticipated debut on the NASDAQ exchange on May 10. The company is offering shares priced between $10.00 and $12.00. With a total of 2,270,000 shares up for grabs, Lirum Therapeutics aims to generate approximately $24.97M in capital through this initial public offering.