Dear Readers,

Stocks experienced a rise on Wednesday, aiming to overcome the downward trend seen at the beginning of the second quarter.

The U.S. Treasury 10-year note rate reached its highest point since November, limiting stock gains. Meanwhile, oil prices surged to levels not seen since October.

Despite the challenging start to the quarter, some market analysts maintain an overall optimistic outlook, suggesting that stocks are poised for consolidation. The first quarter, which ended last week, marked the S&P 500's best performance since 2019. However, despite Wednesday's rebound, the three main indexes still lag behind their starting levels for the week.

As of 12:17 PM ET, the Dow was up 20.97 points, or 0.0535%, at $39191.22. The Nasdaq Composite added 66.543 points, or 0.3672%, at $18188.326. The S&P 500 rose 13.31 points, or 0.26%, at $5219.11. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 8 showed positive movement, with Energy leading the way with a 0.64% increase.

Top Movers: Under $10

ARCA biopharma Inc (ABIO) is up 81.91% today to trade at the current level of $3.11. This comes after the company announced a merger agreement with Oruka Therapeutics.

Kintara Therapeutics Inc (KTRA) zoomed 65.84% in today’s trade to $0.17 following the declarations of and definitive merger agreement with TuHURA Biosciences.

In current trading, VivoPower International PLC (VVPR) stock is at $7.18 following the announcement of capital management strategy including stock buyback program of up to US$5 million.

Asensus Surgical Inc (ASXC) rose 26.57% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $0.27 after announcing non-binding acquisition proposal and exclusivity arrangement with KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG.

In the current trading session, Origin Materials Inc (ORGN) jumped 26.55% to $0.62 over a previous close of $0.49 after announcing the successful conversion of wood residue feedstock into sustainable intermediates at Origin 1, its first commercial-scale plant.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) 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 $0.6 per share. It has fixed April 05 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on May 01. Last year, the company distributed a total of $2.31 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, BMY has a trailing yield of 4.40% on the current stock price of $52.45.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is ChampionX Corp. (CHX), having a market capitalization of $7.44B. It will pay a dividend of $0.1 per share, the payment date of which is April 26. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 0.87%.

Shares of Gentex Corp. (GNTX) will be the talk of stock market on Thursday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.12 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.48 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that GNTX has a trailing yield of 1.33% on the current share price of $36.20.

Tomorrow, JD.com Inc ADR (JD) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from JD will amount to $0.74 per share. April 05 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for April 29. In the previous year, JD distributed a total of $0.62 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for JD stands at 2.28% based on the current stock price of $27.22.

Netapp Inc (NTAP) will be paying out a dividend of $0.5 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of April 05. Over the past 12 months, NTAP has paid out a total of $2.00 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, NTAP boasts an impressive trailing yield of 1.88% on the current share price of $106.46.

Crypto Market Highlights

• BIS and central banks of several countries collaborate to explore asset tokenization within the monetary system alongside private financial institutions

• Fantom creator Andre Cronje expresses concern over incentives behind Ethena Labs’ USDe, fearing a potential Terra-like meltdown

• Binance faces more issues in Nigeria as US-based executive Tigran Gambaryan remains detained

• Ethereum witnesses significant growth in Q1 2024, showing positive signs in various income statement metrics

• Aave proposes an adjustment to the risk parameters of Dai stablecoin through the new Aave Risk Framework Committee (ARFC) proposal

• Bitfinex expands trading tools with the introduction of new Bitcoin and Ether volatility futures amid crypto market volatility

Most Shorted Stocks

Sunnova Energy International Inc (NOVA) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 34.10% 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 4.2. This represents a change of 810000 shares, which corresponds to a +2.29% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $187.88 million. The average daily volume stands at 9.39M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $637.51M.

The Desktop Metal Inc with the symbol DM currently has a short interest of 33.20%. The short interest has changed by -2050000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 18.4. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $57.81 million. On an average day, 3.67M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $275.28M.

With the symbol VTLE, the stock currently has a short interest of 32.48%. The short interest change is -90000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -1.31%. It would take approximately 9.1 days to cover all the short positions. The company boasts an average daily volume of 759.70K shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $1.98B.

The stock ZYXI has a current short interest of 32.17%. The short interest percentage has experienced a decrease of -0.85% while there was a change of -50000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 20.3. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $82.34 million. Trading activity averages at 263.04K shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $391.83M.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, NICE Ltd ADR (NICE) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 58.0. The stock's profitability, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score are strong. However, its growth are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of value, performance, financial strength, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 60.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak value. The performance, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Arista Networks Inc (ANET) has the ST Score of 59.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, financial strength, and stock sentiment but weak in value. Performance, growth, piotroski score, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Sap SE ADR (SAP) stock has the ST Score of 54.0 which implies that the AI company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its value, growth, and financial strength. However, it shows a neutral outlook in performance, and forecast.

Vertiv Holdings Co (VRT) currently has the ST Score of 56.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability, growth, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its value and financial strength. The stock's performance, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.

✨ If you like our content, be sure to check out: