Midday Breakdown: Biotech Climbers & $10 Hidden Gems

Stocks slipped on Thursday as Wall Street processed mixed quarterly reports from megacap tech companies and anticipated further results. Big Tech earnings have painted a mixed picture so far this week. Alphabet saw a nearly 3% gain on Wednesday following strong revenue growth, while chipmaker AMD tumbled over 10% after its fourth-quarter guidance left investors disappointed.

At 11:30 AM ET, the Dow was down -355.57 points, or -0.84%, at $41785.98. The Nasdaq Composite lost -455.09 points, or -2.23%, at $19932.6115. The S&P 500 declined -85.06 points, or -1.46%, at $5728.6. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 8 showed negative movement, with Information Technology leading the way with a -1.78% decrease.

The tech earnings parade continues Thursday, with Apple and Amazon set to report after the market close.

Major indexes are on track for a weekly loss. The Dow has fallen 0.9% week-to-date, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are down 1.5% and 2%, respectively, reflecting a challenging week for the markets.

Top Movers: Under $10

PLBY Group Inc (PLBY) is up 49.29% today to trade at the current level of $1.24. This comes after the company announced the signing of a significant equity investment by Byborg Enterprises SA

Aerovate Therapeutics Inc (AVTE) zoomed 22.83% in today’s trade to $2.69. This rally can be attributed to news that Aerovate Therapeutics and Jade Biosciences announced merger Agreement.

In current trading, Peloton Interactive Inc (PTON) stock is at $8.41 following news that company has announced its financial results for first quarter fiscal 2025.

Tenon Medical Inc (TNON) rose 13.50% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $3.70. The strong performance of TNON stock came as investors were encouraged by the announcement of completion of the initial clinical cases utilizing the Company's new Catamaran SE SI Joint Fixation Device.

In the current trading session, Li-Cycle Holdings Corp (LICY) jumped 14.63% to $2.35 over a previous close of $2.05 as the company announced that it has entered into an agreement with Glencore Ltd. covering the off-take of 100% of the MHP to be produced at its Rochester Hub

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Kodiak Gas Services Inc (KGS) 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 $0.41 per share. The company has fixed November 01 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on November 08. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.55 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, KGS has a trailing yield of 4.91% on the current stock price of $31.58.

Shares of Oneok Inc (OKE) will be the talk of stock market on Friday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.99 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of $3.92 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that OKE has a trailing yield of 4.04% on the current share price of $97.11.

Tomorrow, Costco Wholesale Corp (COST) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from COST will amount to $1.16 per share. November 01 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for November 15. In the previous year, COST distributed a total of $4.34 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for COST stands at 0.50% based on the current stock price of $870.28.

Aon plc (AON) will be paying out a dividend of $0.68 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of November 01. Over the past 12 months, AON has paid out a total of $2.58 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, AON boasts an impressive trailing yield of 0.70% on the current share price of $370.02.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Binance's founder and former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, received a warm welcome and a standing ovation upon his return to the cryptocurrency scene following his release from a U.S. prison.

• Shares of Robinhood (HOOD) experienced a decline on Thursday after the company reported its third-quarter earnings. This downturn was anticipated, considering the stock had more than doubled in value throughout the year, according to a report from JPMorgan (JPM).

• MicroStrategy (MSTR) has not increased its bitcoin (BTC) holdings since mid-September; however, the company unveiled an ambitious strategy to raise $42 billion over the next three years to acquire more of the leading cryptocurrencies.

• According to Darius Sit of QCP Capital, BlackRock's foray into the cryptocurrency market is more significant than the upcoming U.S. election.

• The U.S. election has emerged as a crucial short-term factor influencing Coinbase's (COIN) performance, particularly after the platform fell short of expectations for its third-quarter results, leading to a drop in share prices.

Most Shorted Stocks

Top Wealth Group Holding Ltd (TWG) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 5.46% 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 Days to Cover. This represents a change of 2912100 shares, which corresponds to a +1,968.97% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $1.5 million. The average daily volume stands at 7.22M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $14.12M.

The B. Riley Financial Inc with the symbol RILY currently has a short interest of 72.28%. The short interest has changed by 540000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 3.1 Days to Cover. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $67.1 million. On an average day, 3.77M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $181.02M.

The stock BMEA has a current short interest of 29.18%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +3.28%% while there was a change of 260000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 10.1 Days to Cover. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $375.44 million. Trading activity averages at 832.69K shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $364.74M.

Biotech Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Cybin Inc (CYBN) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Biotech industry, attaining an impressive score of 60. The stock's performance, and financial strength are strong. However, its growth, and Piotroski Score are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of profitability, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Apogee Therapeutics Inc (APGE) as a high-quality Biotech stock today, presenting a Score of 60. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, and financial strength. However, it has weak growth, and Piotroski Score. The stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

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

Bright Minds Biosciences Inc (DRUG) 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 performance, and financial strength. However, it shows neutral outlook in profitability, growth, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Mannkind Corp (MNKD) currently has the ST Score of 67, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Biotech stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, growth, and Piotroski Score. The stock's financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.