Dear Readers,

In the midst of a relatively stable Monday, Wall Street directs its attention to upcoming mega-cap tech earnings reports and the Federal Reserve's imminent rate policy decision.

This week unfolds with an influx of earnings announcements, encompassing 19% of the S&P 500. Notably, tech giants Microsoft, Apple, Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet, pivotal in this year's market surge, are set to disclose their results. Additionally, investors are keenly watching quarterly earnings reports from Dow components such as Boeing and Merck.

On a different note, iRobot shares took a significant hit, plummeting over 10%, prompted by the revelation that Amazon has decided to abandon its pursuit of acquiring the company.

Simultaneously, the Federal Open Market Committee embarks on its two-day policy meeting starting Tuesday. Investors anticipate a steady stance on rates, with a robust 97% probability, as indicated by the fed funds futures market through the CME Group.

As of 12:03 PM ET, the Dow was down -11.2187 points, or -0.0294%, at $38098.21. The Nasdaq Composite added 46.3066 points, or 0.2658%, at $17467.316. The S&P 500 rose 4.9697 points, or 0.1016%, at $4895.94. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 7 showed positive movement, with Health Care leading the way with a 0.23% increase.

Top Movers: Under $10

Palisade Bio Inc (PALI) is up 113.46% today to trade at the current level of $1.11. This comes after the company announced positive preclinical data of lead program PALI-2108 at the 2024 Crohn’s & Colitis Congress.

Cardlytics Inc (CDLX) zoomed 29.12% in today’s trade to $7.45 after announcing successful resolution of SRS dispute and preliminary fourth quarter 2023 results.

In current trading, Foresight Autonomous Holdings Ltd ADR (FRSX) stock is at $1.40. The company will participate in the Alliance Global Partners (A.G.P.) Virtual Technology Conference on Wednesday, February 7, 2024.

SoFi Technologies Inc (SOFI) rose 19.95% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $9.14. The company reported fourth quarter and fiscal year 2023 results.

In the current trading session, Checkpoint Therapeutics Inc (CKPT) jumped 20.24% to $2.02 over a previous close of $1.68 following the declaration of $14 million registered direct offering priced at-the-market.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Targa Resources Corp (TRGP) 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 $0.5 per share. It has fixed January 31 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on February 15. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.99 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, TRGP has a trailing yield of 2.33% on the current stock price of $85.48.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN), having a market capitalization of $149.92B. It will pay a dividend of $1.3 per share, the payment date of which is February 13. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 3.17%.

Shares of A.O. Smith Corp. (AOS) will be the talk of stock market on Tuesday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.32 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $1.23 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that AOS has a trailing yield of 1.52% on the current share price of $80.70.

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (CALM) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from CALM will amount to $0.12 per share. January 31 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for February 15. In the previous year, CALM distributed a total of $1.34 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for CALM stands at 2.44% based on the current stock price of $55.03.

Citizens Financial Group Inc (CFG) will be paying out a dividend of $0.42 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of January 31. Over the past 12 months, CFG has paid out a total of $1.72 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, CFG boasts an impressive trailing yield of 5.08% on the current share price of $33.87.

Crypto Market Highlights

Most Shorted Stocks

Trupanion Inc (TRUP) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 39.68% 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 16.4. This represents a change of 290000 shares, which corresponds to a +2.39% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $357.94 million. The average daily volume stands at 753.36K shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $1.20B.

The Beyond Meat Inc with the symbol BYND currently has a short interest of 38.79%. The short interest has changed by -790000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 7.8. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $165.27 million. On an average day, 2.98M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $451.78M.

For the stock Groupon Inc (GRPN), the current short interest is at 31.13%. This represents a significant short interest change of 870000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +20.42%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 4.7. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $71.82 million.

The stock BLNK has a current short interest of 33.01%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +11.19% while there was a change of 2240000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 3.1. Trading activity averages at 7.61M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $168.86M.

Upcoming IPOs

BioLingus (Cayman) Limited (SUBL) is all set for its debut on the NASDAQ exchange on January 31. The shares will be offered at a fixed price of $20.00 per share. With a total of 360,000 shares available, the company aims to raise approximately $7.20M through this IPO.

FibroBiologics, Inc. (FBLG) will be entering the market with its IPO on January 31, on the NASDAQ exchange. They plan to offer 4,806,226 shares.

Amer Sports, Inc. (AS) is also scheduled to make its debut on the NYSE exchange on February 01. They are offering shares in the price range of $16.00 to $18.00. The IPO includes 100,000,000 shares, aiming for a deal size of $1.70B.

Perfect Moment Ltd. (PMNT) is set to join the NASDAQ on February 02. They are offering shares in the price range of $6.00 to $7.00. They are offering 1,232,000 shares, with an estimated deal size of $8.01M.