Mid-Day Market Radar: Spotlight on Biotech Giants!

The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw its first day of gains in three, thanks to better-than-expected August retail sales and a less concerning inflation report.

At 12:00 PM ET, the Dow was up 257.0469 points, or 0.7434%, at $34832.58. The Nasdaq Composite added 122.666 points, or 0.7992%, at $15471.191. The S&P 500 rose 31.8301 points, or 0.7125%, at $4499.27. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 8 showed positive movement, with Utilities leading the way with a 0.63% increase.

August's producer price index (PPI) reading exceeded expectations, with a 0.7% increase, surpassing the 0.4% predicted by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. However, when excluding food and energy, the core PPI increased by 0.2%, aligning with the estimated figure.

This comes on the heels of Wednesday's release of the August consumer price index (CPI), which revealed that the core CPI, excluding food and energy, was slightly higher than anticipated.

In other news, Adobe is set to announce its quarterly results after the market closes on Thursday.

Top Movers: Under $10

PFSweb Inc. (PFSW) is up 48.10% today to trade at the current level of $7.42. This comes after the company announced that it has entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger to be acquired by GXO Logistics, Inc. (GXO) for an equity value of approximately $181 million.

First Wave BioPharma Inc. (FWBI) zoomed 37.95% in today’s trade to $0.60 after announcing that it has entered into agreements with certain holders of its existing warrants exercisable for 5,882,036 shares of its common stock, in the aggregate, to exercise their warrants at a reduced exercise price of $0.43 per share.

In current trading, Taseko Mines Limited (TGB) stock is at $1.53 following the receipt of final permit for the Florence Copper Project.

Mullen Automotive Inc. (MULN) rose 24.14% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $0.62. The company announced new stops for the 2023 “Strikingly Different” EV U.S. tour.

In the current trading session, MYT Netherlands Parent B.V. (MYTE) jumped 16.00% to $4.35 over a previous close of $3.75 after announcing financial results for its fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2023 ended June 30, 2023.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

DTE Energy Company (DTE) 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 $0.95 per share. The company has fixed September 18 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on October 15. Last year, the company distributed a total of $3.81 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, DTE has a trailing yield of 3.56% on the current stock price of $106.95.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (HBAN), having a market capitalization of $15.49B. It will pay a dividend of $0.16 per share, the payment date of which is October 02. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 5.70%.

Shares of Hooker Furnishings Corporation (HOFT) will be the talk of stock market on Friday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.22 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of $0.88 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that HOFT has a trailing yield of 4.57% on the current share price of $19.26.

HealthStream Inc. (HSTM) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from HSTM will amount to $0.03 per share. September 18 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for September 29. In the previous year, HSTM distributed a total of $0.10 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for HSTM stands at 0.46% based on the current stock price of $21.86.

TotalEnergies SE (TTE) will be paying out a dividend of $0.79 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of September 18. Over the past 12 months, TTE has paid out a total of $3.10 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, TTE boasts an impressive trailing yield of 4.67% on the current share price of $66.41.

Crypto Market Highlights

Most Shorted Stocks

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (SIRI) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 25.75% 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 8.1. This represents a change of 2140000 shares, which corresponds to a +1.30% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $721.26 million. The average daily volume stands at 20.87M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $16.46B.

The Canada Goose Holdings Inc. with the symbol GOOS currently has a short interest of 26.04%. The short interest has changed by -70000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 15.9. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $196.6 million. On an average day, 795.62K shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $2.17B.

For the stock Celsius Holdings Inc. (CELH), the current short interest is at 33.9%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 10.37. Trading activity averages at 1.28 million shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $15.72B.

The stock VRDN has a current short interest of 21.66%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +9.24% while there was a change of 800000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 12.7. T Trading activity averages at 763.76K shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $777.07M.

Biotech Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Ocuphire Pharma Inc. (OCUP) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Biotech industry, attaining an impressive score of 57.0. The stock's valuation, profitability, performance, growth, and financial strength are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Zymeworks Inc. (ZYME) as a high-quality Biotech stock today, presenting a Score of 63.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of valuation, profitability, performance, growth, and Piotroski Score. The financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Immatics N.V. (IMTX) has the ST Score of 63.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, and stock sentiment but weak in financial strength. Value, growth, piotroski score, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

POINT Biopharma Global Inc. (PNT) 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, performance, and stock sentiment. However, it shows neutral outlook in value, growth, financial strength, and forecast.

DiaMedica Therapeutics Inc. (DMAC) currently has the ST Score of 54.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Biotech stock's strong points are its performance, growth, financial strength, and stock sentiment. The stock's value, profitability, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.