Top-4 Stocks to Watch in Today's Session 👀

Stocks posted gains in the week's first trading session on Monday. The Nasdaq led the way with a 2.0% advance, while the S&P 500 added 1.1%. The Dow gained 0.7%, and the small-cap Russell 2K closed 1.2% higher.

Today, futures are down in early-morning trading. Dow and S&P 500 contracts are down 0.2%.

💵 Fed Hints at Slower Rate Hikes: Recent comments from Federal Reserve officials hint that the central bank is leaning towards hiking rates at a quarter-point pace in the months ahead. Some bankers say the slowing pace will give them more time to assess the impact of their increases thus far.

L3Harris Technologies just landed a major government contract.

The aerospace & defense company secured a $46.4 million modification to a US Air Force contract for the maintenance of space equipment.

Specifically, L3Harris will maintain USAF's "space situational awareness integrated capabilities sustainment services," according to the US DOD website.

The modification brings the total face value of the contract to roughly $645.7 million, and work is set to be completed by Jan. 31, 2024.

LHX is one of the top stocks in the S&P 500 with a 2.7% premarket gain.

My Take: LHX has been locked in a down-trend since late October, but there's a chance this small bump could set it on the right path. It's currently trading at a P/E of 33.79. so it's beginning to look attractive.

New clinical data is driving shares of PolyPid higher this morning.

The Israeli biotech said it now has a regulatory pathway to an approval for D-PLEX100 after a Type-D meeting with the FDA to review clinical data.

PolyPid hopes to file a New Drug Application with the FDA for D-PLEX100 to treat abdominal colorectal surgical site infections.

The FDA said PolyPid's ongoing SHIELD II study could provide the necessary supportive evidence for an NDA submission.

The company is now working to revise the trial design in order to meet FDA standards, and it plans to resume patient recruitment next quarter.

PYPD is up 72.4% on news of the regulatory update.

My Take: This announcement could be a strong indication that PYPD could eventually get an FDA approval for D-PLEX100. It could be a while before a full approval, but the stock could run into additional catalysts along the way.

Axcella is moving higher after a clinical update.

The clinical-stage biotech firm announced a regulatory path to register AXA1125 as a treatment for Long COVID Fatigue on Monday afternoon.

Axcella is currently pursuing approvals with the UK's Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the US Food & Drug Administration.

The company currently has an investigational new drug application with the FDA for a Phase 2b/3 trial, and it's meeting with MHRA to discuss its application.

Axcella also said it will discontinue its Phase 2b trial of the drug in NASH patients, but kept open the option to revist the program if resources became available.

AXLA is one of today's top premarket stocks with a 64.0% gain.

My Take: This company is down on its luck, but it sounds like it could be on course for a drug approval. AXLA could have decent upside potential if it can maintain its momentum.

Intelligent Bio Solutions [INBS] - Last Close: $1.03

Intelligent Bio is running hot after a 293% rally on Monday.

The stock soared after the company reached a key milestone in the development of its cutting-edge biosensor platform.

Intelligent Bio said the sensor showed a 4x improvement in time-to-result, proving it is capable of returning test results in under one minute.

The company's CEO, Harry Simeonidids, said the company is "thrilled to have reached another key development milestone."

News of the breakthrough sent this stock soaring on Monday, and the rally kept going after the closing bell.

INBS is currently up 24.2% in the premarket on active trading volume.

My Take: This stock is running extremely hot, but it's anyone's guess how long it can keep this up. I would be wary of a pull-back this late in the game.

Johnson & Johnson [JNJ] ... AM
Danaher Corporation [DHR] ...AM
Verizon Communications Inc. [VZ] ...AM
Raytheon Technologies Corporation [RTX] ... AM
Union Pacific Corporation [UNP] ... AM
Lockheed Martin Corporation [LMT] ... AM
General Electric Company [GE] ... AM
Microsoft Corp. [MSFT] ... PM
Texas Instruments Incorporated [TXN] ... PM
Intuitive Surgical, Inc [ISRG] ... PM