Dear Readers,

Wednesday brought a positive shift for the S&P 500, as it looked set to break away from recent downturns amidst a flurry of corporate earnings reports.

Leading the charge, the materials and utilities sectors each saw gains of approximately 1%, contrasting with the modest dips in real estate and information technology sectors, which each fell by around 0.3%.

This earning season is already showing promise; although just a fraction of S&P 500 companies have shared their financials, the majority have already exceeded analysts' expectations.

This follows the Dow's recovery from a six-day slide, thanks largely to a surge from UnitedHealth's encouraging earnings performance. Despite this, both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite recorded declines for the third consecutive day on Tuesday.

As of 12:40 PM ET, the Dow was down -124.3203 points, or -0.3289%, at $37674.65. The Nasdaq Composite lost -197.13 points, or -1.11%, at $17516.535. The S&P 500 declined -35 points, or -0.69%, at $5016.4. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 9 showed negative movement, with Consumer Defensive leading the way with a -1.31% decrease.

Top Movers: Under $10

INVO Bioscience Inc (INVO) is up 276.97% today to trade at the current level of $2.87. This comes after the company released its earnings report for the fourth quarter of 2023.

Edible Garden AG Inc (EDBL) zoomed 88.51% in today’s trade to $8.58 after announcing preliminary results for the first quarter of 2024.

In current trading, Spectaire Holdings Inc (SPEC) stock is at $1.48 after announcing that it has signed a distribution partnership agreement with a Fortune 1000 Energy Company.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc (VNDA) rose 34.07% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $5.43. The confirmed it had received -- and rejected -- several unsolicited acquisition proposals from pharmaceutical contract-manufacturing and packaging-services provider Future Pak.

In the current trading session, Childrens Place Inc (PLCE) jumped 18.42% to $8.42 over a previous close of $7.11 after announcing a new financing agreement with its majority shareholder, Mithaq Capital, for an unsecured and subordinated $90 million term loan.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Franklin Street Properties Corp. (FSP) 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 $0.01 per share. It has fixed April 19 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on May 09. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.01 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, FSP has a trailing yield of 0.53% on the current stock price of $1.89.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Gladstone Capital Corporation (GLAD), having a market capitalization of $446.40M. It will pay a dividend of $0.17 per share, the payment date of which is April 30. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 9.57%.

Shares of Pentair plc (PNR) will be the talk of the stock market on Thursday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.23 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.89 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that PNR has a trailing yield of 1.13% on the current share price of $79.07.

Patterson Companies Inc. (PDCO) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from PDCO will amount to $0.26 per share. April 19 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for May 03. In the previous year, PDCO distributed a total of $1.04 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for PDCO stands at 4.05% based on the current stock price of $25.69.

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) will be paying out a dividend of $1.01 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of April 19. Over the past 12 months, PG has paid out a total of $3.76 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, PG boasts an impressive trailing yield of 2.41% on the current share price of $156.12.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Worldcoin unveils World Chain, a blockchain network prioritizing human users and real-world utility in Web3 applications.

• Cyprus SEC extends FTX Europe's license suspension until September 2024.

• Reserve Bank of New Zealand initiates a 101-day public consultation on digital dollar principles, delaying CBDC discussion.

• Upbit halts deposits and withdrawals exceeding 1 million Korean won due to VASP Ten&Ten changes.

• Telegram Messenger founder predicts the rise of secure communication devices akin to cryptocurrency hardware wallets.

• US Senate Banking Committee chair plans to merge stablecoin legislation with marijuana business laws and banker compensation rules.

• Homium, a HELOC tokenization protocol on Avalanche, secures $10 million in Series A funding led by Sorenson Impact Group and Blizzard.

Most Shorted Stocks

Lovesac Company (LOVE) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 30.81% 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 18.0. This represents a change of 350000 shares, which corresponds to a +9.19% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $84.24 million. The average daily volume stands at 295.80K shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $313.72M.

The C3.ai Inc with the symbol AI currently has a short interest of 26.09%. The short interest has changed by 310000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 4.2. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $653.36 million. On an average day, 7.55M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $2.50B.

For the stock Carvana Co. (CVNA), the current short interest is at 14.44%. This represents a significant short interest change of -270000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -0.92%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 4.6. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $1.99 billion.

The stock IRBT has a current short interest of 30.40%. The short interest percentage has experienced a decrease of -12.82% while there was a change of -1210000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 2.6. Trading activity averages at 3.25M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $204.44M.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ADR (TSM) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 49.0. The stock's profitability is strong. However, its value and financial strength are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of performance, growth, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Meta Platforms Inc (META) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 53.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak value and financial strength. The performance, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Salesforce Inc (CRM) has the ST Score of 51.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, and Piotroski Score but weak in value, financial strength, and forecast. Performance, growth, and stock sentiment suggest a neutral outlook.

Crowdstrike Holdings Inc (CRWD) stock has the ST Score of 57.0 which implies that the AI company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, growth, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its value. However, it shows a neutral outlook in performance, financial strength, and forecast.

Audiocodes (AUDC) currently has the ST Score of 49.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its value, growth, and forecast. The stock's performance, financial strength, and stock sentiment indicate a neutral outlook.

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