Investor’s Radar: Biotech Stocks Gaining Momentum & $10 Winners

Stocks resumed pulling back on Thursday as investors sought more clarity on the latest U.S. tariff measures and their impact on the economy. A continued unwinding of the popular artificial intelligence trade that has boosted the market for over a year also contributed to Thursday’s decline.

As of 11:34 AM ET, the Dow was down -102.05 points, or -0.23729%, at $42904.54. The Nasdaq Composite added 41.683 points, or 0.20481%, at $20394.21. The S&P 500 declined -41.79 points, or -0.71526%, at $5800.84. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 8 showed positive movement, with Information Technology leading the way with a 1.26% increase.

Adding to the market's concerns, recent economic reports raised alarms that Trump’s policies could hinder the U.S. economy, coming ahead of Friday’s closely watched jobs report.

The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book and the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing report both indicated rising input costs due to tariffs. Additionally, data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed layoff announcements surged to 2020 highs, driven in part by Trump and Elon Musk’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce.

Top Movers: Under $10

Plus Therapeutics Inc (PSTV) is up 61.97% today to trade at the current level of $0.57. This comes after the company announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) to Rhenium (186Re) Obisbemeda for the treatment of leptomeningeal metastases (LM) in patients with lung cancer.

Scienture Holdings Inc (SCNX) zoomed 36.14% in today’s trade to $2.99 after announcing that its subsidiary, Scienture, LLC, has secured exclusive U.S. rights from SUMMIT BIOSCIENCES INC. to launch REZENOPY (naloxone HCl) Nasal Spray 10mg.

In current trading, iHeartMedia Inc (IHRT) stock is at $1.88 following the announcement of its collaboration with Kidde and The Home Depot to expand the Cause For Alarm program, promoting home safety and fire prevention.

Alx Oncology Holdings Inc (ALXO) rose 27.40% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $1.33 after the analyst firm Jefferies upgraded it to Buy with a price target of $3.

In the current trading session, Xeris Biopharma Holdings Inc (XERS) jumped 15.25% to $4.34 over a previous close of $3.77 after announcing financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year ended December 31, 2024.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Bank Of America Corp (BAC) 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 $0.26 per share. It has fixed March 07 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on March 28. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.00 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, BAC has a trailing yield of 2.40% on the current stock price of $41.63.

Shares of General Motors Company (GM) 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 $0.12 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.36 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that GM has a trailing yield of 0.75% on the current share price of $48.19.

HSBC Holdings plc ADR (HSBC) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from HSBC will amount to $1.79 per share. March 07 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for April 25. In the previous year, HSBC distributed a total of $3.05 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for HSBC stands at 5.09% based on the current stock price of $59.96.

Weyerhaeuser Co (WY) will be paying out a dividend of $0.21 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of March 07. Over the past 12 months, WY has paid out a total of $0.80 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, WY boasts an impressive trailing yield of 2.62% on the current share price of $30.55.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Japan’s Liberal Democracy Party (LDP) is advancing regulatory reforms to reduce capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies to 20% and recognize digital assets as a separate asset class.

• New York lawmakers have proposed legislation to protect cryptocurrency investors from rug pull scams, where insiders abandon projects and steal investor funds.

• Brazilian fintech unicorn Meliuz announced it has started purchasing Bitcoin as part of a new treasury management strategy, following the trend of traditional finance firms holding crypto.

• Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko expressed his preference against a US crypto reserve, warning of decentralization risks if a government controlled it.

• Stablecoin operator Tether froze $27 million in USDt on the sanctioned Russian Garantex crypto exchange, causing the platform to suspend operations.

Most Shorted Stocks

SoundHound AI Inc (SOUN) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 30.80% 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 1.4. This represents a change of -950000 shares, which corresponds to a -0.93% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $1.01 billion. The average daily volume stands at 71.91M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $3.94B.

The Microvision Inc with the symbol MVIS currently has a short interest of 26.58%. The short interest has changed by -3220000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 7.7. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $73.61 million. On an average day, 8.15M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $287.98M.

For the stock Aehr Test Systems (AEHR), the current short interest is at 25.94%. This represents a significant short interest change of 680000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +10.38%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 5.9. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $68.83 million.

With the symbol MARA, the stock currently has a short interest of 23.80%. The short interest change is 1840000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +2.35%. It would take approximately 1.6 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $112.79 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 40.90M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $5.40B.

The stock RUN has a current short interest of 24.01%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of +3.12% while there was a change of 1570000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 5.8. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $535.34 million. Trading activity averages at 10.03M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $1.51B.

Biotech Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Biocryst Pharmaceuticals Inc (BCRX) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Biotech industry, attaining an impressive score of 67. The stock's profitability, performance, and growth are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of financial strength, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Innoviva Inc (INVA) as a high-quality Biotech stock today, presenting a Score of 66. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score. The growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Galapagos NV ADR (GLPG) has the ST Score of 65, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, and financial strength. Growth, stock sentiment, piotroski score, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Krystal Biotech Inc (KRYS) stock has the ST Score of 65 which implies that the Biotech company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, performance, growth, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. However, it shows a neutral outlook in stock sentiment, and forecast.

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

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

Best Regards,

Stocks Telegraph Team

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