Dear Readers,

Stocks continued their ascent on Monday, building upon a seven-week winning streak in the market.

The S&P 500 witnessed a surge in energy stocks, marking a rise of over 1% owing to the increase in oil prices. Coterra Energy and Marathon Oil shares saw an approximate 2% uptick each.

Last week, investor confidence received a boost following the Federal Reserve's announcement signaling an anticipation of three short-term interest rate cuts in 2024 due to a decrease in inflation. Consequently, Treasury yields declined, with the 10-year Treasury yield dipping below the 4% mark.

At 11:55 AM ET, the Dow was up 56.9609 points, or 0.1527%, at $37362.12. The Nasdaq Composite added 76.1445 points, or 0.4581%, at $16699.592. The S&P 500 rose 21.3701 points, or 0.4528%, at $4740.56. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 7 showed negative movement, with Utilities leading the way with a -0.48% decrease.

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Top Movers: Under $10

Invivyd Inc (IVVD) is up 147.85% today to trade at the current level of $4.04. This comes after the company released positive initial results from the ongoing CANOPY Phase 3 pivotal clinical trial of VYD222, a broadly neutralizing, half-life extended monoclonal antibody candidate, for the prevention of symptomatic COVID-19.

Smart for Life, Inc. Common Stock (SMFL) zoomed 74.67% in today’s trade to $0.65 after announcing that it has expanded its management team in anticipation of increased capital markets and M&A activity.

In current trading, Biomerica Inc. (BMRA) stock is at $1.58 following the receipt of US FDA 510(k) clearance for their Hp Detect™ ELISA Test product designed to detect the presence of the H. pylori Bacteria that infects approximately 35% of the U.S. Population.

LQR House Inc (LQR) rose 35.79% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $3.49. The company provided an update on the progression of its Share Buyback Program and shares Fintel's updated price target for LQR.

In the current trading session, Arcutis Biotherapeutics Inc (ARQT) jumped 18.44% to $2.89 over a previous close of $2.44 after receiving FDA approval for ZORYVE to treat seborrheic dermatitis.

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Ex-Dividends Stocks

Western Union Company (WU) 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 $0.23 per share. The company has fixed December 20 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on December 29. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.94 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, WU has a trailing yield of 7.82% on the current stock price of $12.06.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Broadcom Inc (AVGO), having a market capitalization of $535.80B. It will pay a dividend of $5.25 per share, the payment date of which is December 29. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 1.81%.

Shares of Nordic American Tankers Ltd (NAT) will be the talk of stock market on Tuesday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.06 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of $0.45 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that NAT has a trailing yield of 10.55% on the current share price of $4.28.

Medtronic Plc (MDT) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from MDT will amount to $0.69 per share. December 20 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for January 12. In the previous year, MDT distributed a total of $2.65 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for MDT stands at 3.18% based on the current stock price of $83.26.

Ituran Location And Control Ltd. (ITRN) will be paying out a dividend of $0.24 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of December 20. Over the past 12 months, ITRN has paid out a total of $0.58 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, ITRN boasts an impressive trailing yield of 2.21% on the current share price of $26.26.

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Most Shorted Stocks

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 28.29% 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 11.9. This represents a change of -430000 shares, which corresponds to a -0.24% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $915.0 million. The average daily volume stands at 14.55M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $19.92B.

For the stock Applied Optoelectronics Inc (AAOI), the current short interest is at 24.99%. This represents a significant short interest change of 350000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +4.10%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 3.8. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $193.41 million.

With the symbol SOVO, the stock currently has a short interest of 27.64%. The short interest change is 800000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +6.19%. It would take approximately 8.4 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $195.27 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 1.50M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $2.23B.

The stock WIRE has a current short interest of 27.59%. The short interest percentage has experienced decrease of -1.91% while there was a change of -80000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 18.9. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $2.92 billion. Trading activity averages at 224.16K shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $3.36B.

Upcoming IPOs

Linkage Global Inc. (LGCB) is all set for its debut on the NASDAQ exchange on December 19. The shares will be offered at a price range of $4.00 to $6.00 per share. With a total of 1,500,000 shares available, the company aims to raise approximately $7.50M through this IPO.

Docola, Inc. (DOCO) will be entering the market with its IPO on December 20, on the NASDAQ exchange. They are offering shares in the price range of $5.75 to $6.75. They plan to offer 1,060,870 shares, targeting a deal size of $6.63M.

J-Long Group Limited (JL) is also scheduled to make its debut on the NASDAQ exchange on December 22. They are offering shares in the price range of $4.00 to $6.00. The IPO includes 1,400,000 shares, aiming for a deal size of $7.00M.