Midday Insights: $10 Picks & Top Biotech Stock

After rallying for two days, stocks are struggling for direction on Thursday. Trading is cautious as investors wait for Friday's key inflation report. This report, released by the Commerce Department, will show consumer spending and inflation figures for May. This data is particularly important because it includes the inflation measure the Federal Reserve uses to set interest rates.

As of 11:29 AM ET, the Dow was up 45.2695 points, or 0.1157%, at $39173.07. The Nasdaq Composite added 16.37 points, or 0.0829%, at $19767.4133. The S&P 500 declined -6.5 points, or -0.1187%, at $5471.4. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 6 showed negative movement, with Utilities leading the way with a -0.93% decrease.

Analysts predict a slight decrease in the annual inflation rate, which could impact future interest rate decisions.

On a brighter note, a separate report from the Labor Department showed a larger-than-expected drop in unemployment claims last week.

Top Movers: Under $10

Geovax Labs Inc (GOVX) is up 104.96% today to trade at the current level of $4.13. This comes after the company announced that it will partner with Allucent, a global clinical research organization (CRO), to conduct a Phase 2b clinical trial of GEO-CM04S1, GeoVax's dual-antigen next-generation COVID-19 vaccine.

Assure Holdings Corp (IONM) zoomed 90.22% in today’s trade to $0.44 after the company withdrew a share offering.

In current trading, Kala Bio Inc. (KALA) stock is at $6.60 following the announcement of $12,500,000 private placement.

NLS Pharmaceutics Ltd (NLSP) rose 75.14% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $0.32 after announcing promising preclinical results for Parkinson's disease treatments.

In the current trading session, Blue Star Foods Corp (BSFC) jumped 30.88% to $2.33 over a previous close of $1.78. The company announced that it is providing a 2024 forecast of at least 65% revenue growth with an annual run-rate of greater than $20 million.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Xerox Holdings Corp (XRX) 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 $0.25 per share. It has fixed June 28 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on July 31. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.00 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, XRX has a trailing yield of 7.98% on the current stock price of $12.52.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Nucor Corp. (NUE), having a market capitalization of $37.12B. It will pay a dividend of $0.54 per share, the payment date of which is August 09. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 1.36%.

Shares of Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) will be the talk of the stock market on Friday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.42 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $1.66 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that MDLZ has a trailing yield of 2.49% on the current share price of $66.65.

Tomorrow, Deere & Co. (DE) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from DE will amount to $1.47 per share. June 28 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for August 08. In the previous year, DE distributed a total of $5.54 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for DE stands at 1.47% based on the current stock price of $376.79.

AGNC Investment Corp (AGNC) will be paying out a dividend of $0.12 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of June 28. Over the past 12 months, AGNC has paid out a total of $1.44 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, AGNC boasts an impressive trailing yield of 14.95% on the current share price of $9.64.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Coinbase has filed lawsuits against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
  

• VanEck has filed for a new Solana ETF, following its history as one of the first issuers of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) in the United States.
  

• Puffer Finance, a liquid staking derivatives (LSD) project on Ethereum's Eigenlayer protocol, will partner with the Ethereum Foundation to jointly develop rollups after securing an $18 million Series A funding round.
  

• Binance has introduced new security measures to prevent the misuse of account features and enhance platform integrity.
  

• New York-based blockchain tech company Unicoin aims for a public stock listing and the launch of its namesake cryptocurrency by the end of this year.

Most Shorted Stocks

Sphere Entertainment Co (SPHR) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 26.09% 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 10.6. This represents a change of 140000 shares, which corresponds to a +2.04% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $242.62 million. The average daily volume stands at 691.91K shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $1.22B.

The Applied Optoelectronics Inc with the symbol AAOI currently has a short interest of 26.32%. The short interest has changed by 360000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 5.6. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $88.27 million. On an average day, 1.78M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $335.40M.

For the stock Desktop Metal Inc (DM), the current short interest is at 28.17%. This represents a significant short interest change of -54100000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -90.35%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 19.1. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $23.87 million.

With the symbol AEMD, the stock currently has a short interest of 5.64%. The short interest change is -1296900 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -74.11%. It would take approximately 0.2 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $3.29 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 4.35M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $5.27M.

Biotech Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. (HALO) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Biotech industry, attaining an impressive score of 56.0. The stock's profitability, growth, and stock sentiment are strong. However, its financial strength is weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of value, performance, Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Immuron Limited ADR (IMRN) as a high-quality Biotech stock today, presenting a Score of 56.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of performance, and financial strength. However, it has a weak Piotroski Score. The value, profitability, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Veracyte Inc (VCYT) has the ST Score of 58.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, financial strength, and stock sentiment. Value, performance, growth, piotroski score, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Corcept Therapeutics Inc (CORT) stock has the ST Score of 55.0 which implies that the Biotech company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its value. However, it shows a neutral outlook in performance, growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Krystal Biotech Inc (KRYS) currently has the ST Score of 60.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Biotech stock's strong points are its profitability, growth, financial strength, and stock sentiment, while its weak points are its value. The stock's performance, Piotroski Score, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.

Best Regards,
Stocks Telegraph Team