Midday Market Pulse: Hot Biotech Stocks & $10 Stock Stars

Stocks showed mixed performance on Thursday following the Federal Reserve's announcement that it would keep interest rates unchanged and signaled a reduced likelihood of cuts throughout the year.

As of, 11:38 AM ET, the Dow was down -206.1797 points, or -0.5326%, at $38506.03. The Nasdaq Composite added 98.8555 points, or 0.5079%, at $19564.035. The S&P 500 declined -0.6396 points, or -0.0118%, at $5420.39. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 8 showed negative movement, with Energy leading the way with a -1.79% decrease. 

In economic news, producer prices declined in May, indicating further signs of cooling inflation. Contrarily, jobless claims rose unexpectedly, adding another layer of complexity to the economic landscape.

Market watchers are particularly focused on Tesla's shareholder meeting today, where investors will decide on CEO Elon Musk's proposed $56 billion compensation package.

Top Movers: Under $10

Zapp Electric Vehicles Group Ltd (ZAPP) is up 253.85% today to trade at the current level of $2.53. This comes after the company announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding and intends to appoint Bounce Electric 1 Private Limited as its contract manufacturing partner for sales of the i300 in India.

BioRestorative Therapies Inc (BRTX) zoomed 32.59% in today’s trade to $1.79 after reporting that it has had substantive discussions with an undisclosed commercial-stage regenerative medicine company with regard to a license of BioRestorative’s allogeneic, off-the-shelf ThermoStem® metabolic intellectual property.

In current trading, Sharps Technology Inc (STSS) stock is at $0.37 following the receipt of a $30 million purchase order for pre-fillable Copolymer Syringes to be manufactured at the SC Facility.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc (VNDA) rose 11.74% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $6.61 after the confirmation from the company that it has received a revised unsolicited proposal from Future Pak, LLC to acquire Vanda for $8.50-$9.00 per share in cash plus certain Contingent Value Rights.

In the current trading session, Bitfarms Ltd. (BITF) jumped 11.11% to $2.70 over a previous close of $2.43 after announcing an agreement to develop up to 120 MW of power capacity and lease a site in Sharon, Pennsylvania.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Aarons Company Inc (AAN) 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 $0.12 per share. It has fixed June 14 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on July 03. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.50 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, AAN has a trailing yield of 6.51% on the current stock price of $7.68.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP), having a market capitalization of $99.43B. It will pay a dividend of $1.4 per share, the payment date of which is July 01. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 1.67%.

Shares of Dicks Sporting Goods, Inc. (DKS) 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 $1.1 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $4.10 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that DKS has a trailing yield of 1.87% on the current share price of $219.17.

Digital Realty Trust Inc (DLR) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from DLR will amount to $1.22 per share. June 14 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for June 28. In the previous year, DLR distributed a total of $4.88 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for DLR stands at 3.25% based on the current stock price of $150.02.

Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) will be paying out a dividend of $0.35 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of business hours on the record date of June 14. Over the past 12 months, DVN has paid out a total of $0.81 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, DVN boasts an impressive trailing yield of 1.77% on the current share price of $45.88.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino states Bitcoin is the only decentralized cryptocurrency among over 14,000 others.

• Terraform Labs to cease operations after a $4.47 billion settlement with the U.S. SEC, says CEO Chris Amani.

• Terraform Labs to sell key projects within the Terra ecosystem and hand over control of the Terra blockchain to the community.

• BNB Chain and Binance’s venture arm to launch an incubation alliance for early Web3 projects.

• Hidden Road partners with Bitfinex to enhance institutional exposure to digital assets.

• Bitfinex announces integration with Hidden Road for new digital assets and security tools for institutional offerings.

• MicroStrategy plans to offer $500 million in convertible senior notes due in 2032, targeting qualified institutional buyers.

Most Shorted Stocks

Beyond Meat Inc (BYND) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 39.81% 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 9.7. This represents a change of -660000 shares, which corresponds to a -2.66% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $166.88 million. The average daily volume stands at 2.48M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $448.31M.

Trupanion Inc with the symbol TRUP currently has a short interest of 38.78%. The short interest has changed by -250000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 15.8. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $313.04 million. On an average day, 734.53K shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $1.14B.

For the stock Cutera Inc (CUTR), the current short interest is at 36.67%. This represents a significant short interest change of -80000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -1.07%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 8.3. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $13.63 million.

With the symbol MPW, the stock currently has a short interest of 34.28%. The short interest change is -480000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -0.23%. It would take approximately 10.9 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $35.45 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 18.90M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $2.89B.

The stock IBRX has a current short interest of 34.60%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of +0.07% while there was a change of 40000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 7.7. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $1.17 billion. Trading activity averages at 7.08M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $3.93B.

Biotech Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Longeveron Inc (LGVN) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Biotech industry, attaining an impressive score of 34.0. The stock's stock sentiment is strong. However, its profitability, financial strength, Piotroski Score, and forecast are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of value, performance, and growth.

Our ST Score also classifies BioRestorative Therapies Inc (BRTX) as a high-quality Biotech stock today, presenting a Score of 47.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of stock sentiment. However, it has weak profitability and Piotroski Score. The value, performance, growth, financial strength, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Geron Corp. (GERN) has an ST Score of 36.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in but weak in value, profitability, growth, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. Performance, stock sentiment, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Novavax, Inc. (NVAX) stock has an ST Score of 46.0 which implies that the Biotech company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its growth, but its weaknesses are in its financial strength, and Piotroski Score. However, it shows a neutral outlook in value, profitability, performance, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings Inc (DNA) currently has an ST Score of 42.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Biotech stock's strong points are its valuation, and growth, while its weak points are its profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. The stock's performance, stock sentiment, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.

Best Regards,
Stocks Telegraph Team