Dear Readers,

Stocks saw a slight rebound on Friday as traders grappled with a turbulent start to 2024 amidst conflicting economic signals.

Friday witnessed fluctuating stock movements as traders analyzed new economic data to gauge the Federal Reserve's potential decision on interest rate cuts. December's job report revealed a stronger-than-expected addition of 216,000 nonfarm payrolls, surpassing economists' predictions of 170,000. The unemployment rate remained stable at 3.7%, indicating sustained labor market strength.

Following the release of the report, Treasury yields surged, with the 10-year rate hovering around 4.04%. This heightened interest rates speculation amid the evolving economic landscape.

As of 11:51 AM ET, the Dow was up 30.1094 points, or 0.0804%, at $37470.45. The Nasdaq Composite added 70.4961 points, or 0.433%, at $16352.509. The S&P 500 rose 17.5796 points, or 0.3749%, at $4706.26. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 9 showed positive movement, with Consumer Cyclical leading the way with a 0.72% increase.

Top Movers: Under $10

Banzai International Inc (BNZI) is up 87.36% today to trade at the current level of $3.11. This comes after the company announced that it has signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire IGLeads, a cutting-edge automated lead generation platform.

Safe and Green Development Corp (SGD) zoomed 42.70% in today’s trade to $1.94 after announcing plans to acquire Majestic World Holdings.

In current trading, Elevation Oncology Inc (ELEV) stock is at $0.76 after announcing program updates and upcoming 2024 milestones.

Dermata Therapeutics Inc (DRMA) rose 19.17% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $0.73 following the declaration of a new patent in Japan.

In the current trading session, Knightscope Inc (KSCP) jumped 12.27% to $0.69 over a previous close of $0.61 on news of three new orders for emergency communication devices: a Texas university ordered 1 K1 Blue Light Tower, a New Jersey municipality ordered 1 K1 Blue Light Tower, and a Virginia country club ordered a K1 Call Box with Knightscope Emergency Management System (KEMS) software.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Dollar General Corp. (DG) is about to trade ex-dividend Monday, meaning that investors who buy the stock after Monday will not be eligible for the next dividend payment. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.59 per share. It has fixed January 09 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on January 23. Last year, the company distributed a total of $2.24 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, DG has a trailing yield of 1.63% on the current stock price of $136.83.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends on Monday is Mastercard Incorporated (MA), having a market capitalization of $393.75B. It will pay a dividend of $0.66 per share, the payment date of which is February 09. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 0.54%.

Shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (MSM) will be the talk of stock market on Monday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.83 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $3.34 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that MSM has a trailing yield of 3.47% on the current share price of $96.36.

Roper Technologies Inc (ROP) is also set to go ex-dividend on Monday. The next dividend payment from ROP will amount to $0.75 per share. January 09 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for January 23. In the previous year, ROP distributed a total of $2.67 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for ROP stands at 0.51% based on the current stock price of $523.53.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) will be paying out a dividend of $1.31 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of January 10. Over the past 12 months, DRI has paid out a total of $5.29 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, DRI boasts an impressive trailing yield of 3.28% on the current share price of $161.46.

Crypto Market Highlights

Most Shorted Stocks

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 28.52% 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 12.2. This represents a change of 600000 shares, which corresponds to a +0.34% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $960.57 million. The average daily volume stands at 12.49M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $20.85B.

The Plug Power Inc with the symbol PLUG currently has a short interest of 29.37%. The short interest has changed by 3060000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 4.5. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $679.71 million. On an average day, 35.73M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $2.60B.

For the stock ImmunityBio Inc (IBRX), the current short interest is at 5.67%. This represents a significant short interest change of 1700000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +4.70%%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 6.5. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $182.77 million.

With the symbol CUTR, the stock currently has a short interest of 26.43%. The short interest change is -820000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -13.46%%. It would take approximately 4.5 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $109.36 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 1.18M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $57.63M.

The stock AAOI has a current short interest of 26.53%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +6.19%% while there was a change of 550000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 3.8. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $97.65 million. Trading activity averages at 2.58M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $658.56M.

Energy Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, International Seaways Inc (INSW) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Energy industry, attaining an impressive score of 72.0. The stock's valuation, profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Teekay Tankers Ltd (TNK) as a high-quality Energy stock today, presenting a Score of 76.0. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of valuation, profitability, performance, financial strength, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score. The growth, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Torm Plc (TRMD) has the ST Score of 67.0, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in valuation, profitability, performance, and financial strength. Growth, stock sentiment, piotroski score, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Imperial Petroleum Inc (IMPP) stock has the ST Score of 73.0 which implies that the Energy company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its valuation, performance, financial strength, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score. However, it shows neutral outlook in profitability, growth, and forecast.

Tenaris S.A. ADR (TS) currently has the ST Score of 67.0, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Energy stock's strong points are its valuation, profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. The stock's performance, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.