Midday Climax: Biotech Stocks & Must-Watch $10 Treasures

U.S. stocks were little changed Thursday, as investors tried to recapture the postelection momentum that lifted the major averages to record highs.

At 11:30 AM ET, the Dow was up 1.6172 points, or 0.0037%, at $43959.81. The Nasdaq Composite lost -39.3 points, or -0.1868%, at $20996.8607. The S&P 500 declined -5.48 points, or -0.0916%, at $5979.9. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 8 showed negative movement, with Consumer Cyclical leading the way with a -0.9% decrease.

Those moves come after the October producer price index released Thursday rose 0.2%, matching forecasts from economists polled by Dow Jones.

PPI excluding food and energy ran faster than forecast. The October consumer price index came in as expected on Wednesday, but signaled the Federal Reserve's fight against inflation is yet to be won. Core CPI rose by 0.3% for a third straight month, with the 12-month rate at 3.3%. Initial jobless claims also declined by 217,000 for the week ended Nov.17, a decline of 4,000 from the prior

Investors are deliberating whether a postelection rally following Donald Trump's decisive victory last week still has room to run after powering the major averages to new milestones. The Dow closed above 44,000 for the first time on Monday, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite notched new highs.

Investors will also closely monitor Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks on Thursday in Dallas. The October retail sales report is due out Friday.

Top Movers: Under $10

AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc (UAVS) is up 113.74% today to trade at the current level of $3.44. This comes after UAVS announced it has secured 17 new purchase orders for eBee TAC drones from U.S. defense and security customers.

Gaxos.AI Inc (GXAI) zoomed 33.17% in today’s trade to $1.93. This rally can be attributed to GXAI announcement today that the Company’s Board of Directors approved the purchase of up to $1 million in Bitcoin.

In current trading, Elevai Labs Inc (ELAB) stock is at $0.03 following news company reporting financial results for the second quarter ended September 30, 2024 and provided a business update.

Pulmatrix Inc (PULM) rose 48.03% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $5.27. The strong performance of PULM stock came as investors were encouraged by the company’s merger agreement with Cullgen Inc. applying its proprietary targeted protein degradation uSMITE™ platform to discover and advance therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and other diseases.

In the current trading session, X4 Pharmaceuticals Inc (XFOR) jumped 24.95% to $0.35 over a previous close of $0.28 as XFOR announced that its management will participate in the Stifel 2024 Healthcare Conference, taking place in New York, NY on November 18-19, 2024.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Duke Energy Corp (DUK) 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 $1.04 per share. The company has fixed November 15 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on December 16. Last year, the company distributed a total of $4.12 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, DUK has a trailing yield of 3.71% on the current stock price of $110.94.

Shares of Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp (BAH) will be the talk of stock market on Friday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.51 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of $2.00 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that BAH has a trailing yield of 1.24% on the current share price of $160.93.

Tomorrow, Wynn Resorts Ltd (WYNN) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from WYNN will amount to $0.25 per share. November 15 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for November 27. In the previous year, WYNN distributed a total of $1.00 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for WYNN stands at 1.08% based on the current stock price of $92.48.

Applied Industrial Technologies Inc (AIT) will be paying out a dividend of $0.37 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of November 15. Over the past 12 months, AIT has paid out a total of $1.46 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, AIT boasts an impressive trailing yield of 0.53% on the current share price of $273.55.

Crypto Market Highlights

• After his release from a U.S. prison, Binance's founder and former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, returned to the cryptocurrency scene with a warm welcome and a standing ovation.

• 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 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 42.80% 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 0.1 Days to Cover. This represents a change of -2204000 shares, which corresponds to a -72.03% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $0.23 million. The average daily volume stands at 7.86M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $7.95M.

The Beyond Meat Inc with the symbol BYND currently has a short interest of 42.61%. The short interest has changed by -130000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 11.2 Days to Cover. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $138.69 million. On an average day, 2.24M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $347.53M.

For the stock Advantage Solutions Inc (ADV), the current short interest is at 41.36%. This represents a significant short interest change of -360000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -3.91%%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 15.3 Days to Cover. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $28.94 million.

Biotech Stock to Watch

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

Our ST Score also classifies CorMedix Inc (CRMD) as a high-quality Biotech stock today, presenting a Score of 61. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of performance, growth, and financial strength. However, it has weak profitability. The stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Incyte Corp (INCY) has the ST Score of 61, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score. Growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals (RIGL) stock has the ST Score of 64 which implies that the Biotech company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, performance, growth, and Piotroski Score. However, it shows neutral outlook in financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast.