Biotech Surge: Affordable Picks Ready to Skyrocket

U.S. stocks moved higher on Thursday after President Donald Trump announced plans to introduce reciprocal tariffs later in the day. Meanwhile, investors continued to assess fresh economic data indicating inflation is picking up again.

As of 11:13 AM ET, the Dow was up 161.27 points, or 0.36348%, at $44529.83. The Nasdaq Composite added 230.068 points, or 1.05928%, at $21949.33. The S&P 500 rose 23.82 points, or 0.39252%, at $6092.32. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 8 showed positive movement, with Real Estate leading the way with a 1.61% increase.

Earnings season remains in focus, with nearly 70% of S&P 500 companies having reported so far, and a majority delivering results that exceeded expectations. Robinhood (HOOD) shares surged after posting a fourth-quarter profit beat, while Reddit (RDDT) tumbled following weaker-than-expected user growth.

Looking ahead, key earnings reports from Airbnb (ABNB), Applied Materials (AMAT), and Coinbase (COIN) will be closely watched after the closing bell.

Top Movers: Under $10

Moleculin Biotech Inc (MBRX) is up 350.00% today to trade at the current level of $1.89. This comes after the company received positive FDA guidance for the acceleration of its registration-enabling MIRACLE trial for R/R Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Alpha Modus Holdings Inc (AMOD) zoomed 130.98% in today’s trade to $4.25 after announcing AI-powered retail expansion with CashX—targeting $75 million in annual ad revenue.

In current trading, Phoenix Motor Inc (PEV) stock is at $0.49 after reporting revenue up 1,557% year-over-year to $4.77M for the third quarter of 2024.

Edesa Biotech Inc (EDSA) rose 87.63% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $3.49 after announcing $15.0 million private placement priced at-the-market under Nasdaq rules.

In the current trading session, Pliant Therapeutics Inc (PLRX) jumped 31.19% to $3.57 over a previous close of $2.72 after announcing that, per the charter of the trial’s independent Data Safety Monitoring Board, the Company has initiated the assembly of an outside expert panel to review unblinded data from the ongoing BEACON-IPF Phase 2b trial of bexotegrast in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

Ex-Dividends Stocks

AGCO Corp (AGCO) 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 $0.29 per share. It has fixed February 14 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on March 14. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.15 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, AGCO has a trailing yield of 1.22% on the current stock price of $93.97.

Shares of AMGEN Inc (AMGN) will be the talk of the stock market on Friday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $2.38 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $9.00 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that AMGN has a trailing yield of 3.05% on the current share price of $295.19.

Tomorrow, CF Industries Holdings Inc (CF) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from CF will amount to $0.5 per share. February 14 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for February 28. In the previous year, CF distributed a total of $2.00 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for CF stands at 2.49% based on the current stock price of $80.25.

Chevron Corp (CVX) will be paying out a dividend of $1.71 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of February 14. Over the past 12 months, CVX has paid out a total of $6.52 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, CVX boasts an impressive trailing yield of 4.21% on the current share price of $154.79.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Tether rebukes JPMorgan analysts for suggesting it may need to sell Bitcoin to comply with proposed US stablecoin regulations.

• Russian retail brokerage Finam to launch investment products tied to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, offering Russian investors access to spot Bitcoin ETFs. 

• Digital asset firm Taurus launches Taurus-Capital, an enterprise-grade custody and tokenization platform on the Solana blockchain.

• Mastercard reports tokenizing 30% of its transactions in 2024 and acknowledges stablecoins and cryptocurrencies' potential to disrupt traditional financial services.

• South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (SFC) allows institutions to sell digital asset donations and instruct banks to offer more services to crypto firms.

  Most Shorted Stocks

SEALSQ Corp (LAES) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 46.76% 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 0.3. This represents a change of 1990000 shares, which corresponds to a +19.36% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $43.68 million. The average daily volume stands at 48.98M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $347.96M.

The Medical Properties Trust Inc with the symbol MPW currently has a short interest of 42.39%. The short interest has changed by -15100000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 16.2. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $1.05 billion. On an average day, 12.84M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $2.93B.

For the stock Kohl's Corp (KSS), the current short interest is at 40.05%. This represents a significant short interest change of -1670000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -3.71%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 4.6. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $509.25 million.

With the symbol SAVA, the stock currently has a short interest of 32.95%. The short interest change is 490000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +3.19%. It would take approximately 2.9 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $99.68 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 5.64M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $110.42M.

The stock SPCE has a current short interest of 36.01%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of +11.72% while there was a change of 1020000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 4.7. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $65.94 million. Trading activity averages at 1.92M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $120.27M.

Biotech Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Kiora Pharmaceuticals Inc (KPRX) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Biotech industry, attaining an impressive score of 71. The stock's profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of performance, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Fennec Pharmaceuticals Inc (FENC) as a high-quality Biotech stock today, presenting a Score of 68. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, and financial strength. The growth, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Inc (CPRX) has the ST Score of 66, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. Growth, stock sentiment, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals (RIGL) stock has the ST Score of 66 which implies that the Biotech company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, performance, growth, and Piotroski Score. However, it shows neutral outlook in financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Protagonist Therapeutics Inc (PTGX) currently has the ST Score of 64, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Biotech stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. The stock's growth, stock sentiment, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading. Good luck out there!

Best Regards,

Stocks Telegraph Team

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