Dear Readers,

Tech stocks took a nosedive on Wednesday, dragging down the broader market, as investors braced for the Federal Reserve's verdict on interest rates later in the day. 

As of 11:28 AM ET, the Dow was up 30.1797 points, or 0.0785%, at $38497.49. The Nasdaq Composite lost -247.8301 points, or -1.4181%, at $17228.879. The S&P 500 declined -39.8501 points, or -0.8091%, at $4885.12. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 8 showed negative movement, with Energy leading the way with a -0.69% decrease. 

The dip came despite strong earnings reports from tech giants Microsoft and Google, highlighting the sector's vulnerability to broader economic anxieties.

Adding to the bearish sentiment was disappointing private employment data, with January's payroll growth falling short of expectations. This raised concerns about the health of the U.S. labor market and potentially slower economic expansion.

However, the main event on Wednesday remained the Fed's rate decision. With a near 98% chance of rates holding steady, according to the CME FedWatch tool, investors were laser-focused on any hints about future policy shifts in the post-meeting statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks. 

Top Movers: Under $10

Connexa Sports Technologies Inc (CNXA) is up 166.62% today to trade at the current level of $0.53. This comes after the company announced that it has regained compliance with the Nasdaq Minimum Shareholder Equity Rule.

Trinity Biotech Plc ADR (TRIB) zoomed 36.35% in today’s trade to $0.59 after announcing that it has entered into a non-binding Letter of Intent with Bayer for the launch of a Continuous Glucose Monitoring (“CGM”) biosensor device in China and India.

In current trading, Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc (AHT) stock is at $1.75. The company provided an update on its plan to pay off its strategic financing which has a final maturity date in January 2026.

Plug Power Inc (PLUG) rose 17.64% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $4.39 after the company’s shares got updated coverage from Roth/MKM analysts.

In the current trading session, Guardion Health Sciences Inc (GHSI) jumped 50.18% to $8.08 over a previous close of $5.38 after announcing that it has signed an equity purchase agreement to sell its Activ Nutritional, LLC subsidiary, to Doctor’s Best Inc., for gross cash consideration of $17.2 million, payable in full at closing.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Brown & Brown, Inc. (BRO) 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 $0.13 per share. It has fixed February 02 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on February 14. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.53 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, BRO has a trailing yield of 0.68% on the current stock price of $78.06.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Costco Wholesale Corp (COST), having a market capitalization of $308.86B. It will pay a dividend of $1.02 per share, the payment date of which is February 16. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 2.69%.

Shares of Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) will be the talk of stock market on Thursday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.35 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $1.47 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that WFC has a trailing yield of 2.87% on the current share price of $51.41.

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from NSC will amount to $1.35 per share. February 02 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for February 20. In the previous year, NSC distributed a total of $5.56 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for NSC stands at 2.35% based on the current stock price of $236.93.

Lamb Weston Holdings Inc (LW) will be paying out a dividend of $0.36 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of February 02. Over the past 12 months, LW has paid out a total of $1.27 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, LW boasts an impressive trailing yield of 1.24% on the current share price of $102.67.

Crypto Market Highlights

Most Shorted Stocks

Luminar Technologies Inc (LAZR) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 22.27% 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 11.5. This represents a change of 15360000 shares, which corresponds to a +20.72% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $258.65 million. The average daily volume stands at 8.09M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $1.16B.

The Cutera Inc with the symbol CUTR currently has a short interest of 30.94%. The short interest has changed by 1050000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 3.3. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $17.34 million. On an average day, 1.99M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $56.03M.

For the stock Cassava Sciences Inc (SAVA), the current short interest is at 33.63%. This represents a significant short interest change of -560000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -4.03%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 10.2. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $334.98 million.

With the symbol SPWR, the stock currently has a short interest of 33.44%. The short interest change is 2150000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +8.03%. It would take approximately 3.7 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $44.26 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 7.68M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $582.21M.

The stock PROK has a current short interest of 32.06%. The short interest percentage has experienced decrease of -1.33% while there was a change of -180000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 14.3. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $41.05 million. Trading activity averages at 906.35K shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $95.67M.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Arista Networks Inc (ANET) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 69.0. The stock's profitability, performance, growth, financial strength, and stock sentiment are strong. However, its value are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies AdTheorent Holding Company Inc (ADTH) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 66.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, financial strength, and stock sentiment. However, it has weak value, and growth. The Piotroski Score, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, NICE Ltd ADR (NICE) has the ST Score of 65.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score but weak in growth. Value, financial strength, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

NVIDIA Corp (NVDA) stock has the ST Score of 65.0 which implies that the AI company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, performance, growth, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its value. However, it shows neutral outlook in financial strength, and forecast.

Accenture plc (ACN) currently has the ST Score of 63.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, financial strength, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its value. The stock's growth, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.