📈 5 Penny Stocks Surging Today While Wall Street Stays Flat

US stocks opened mixed on Wednesday as investors monitored geopolitical tensions from the Iran war shipping tensions 2026 and evaluated fresh inflation data.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3%, supported by strong earnings from Oracle Corporation, while the S&P 500 gained 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%.

Oil prices climbed after reports of attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, pushing West Texas Intermediate crude oil above $85 and Brent crude oil above $90 per barrel, though the International Energy Agency announced a record 400-million-barrel emergency oil release to ease supply pressures.

Meanwhile, February’s Consumer Price Index showed inflation rising 0.3% month over month and 2.4% year over year, matching expectations, with investors now awaiting the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index report on Friday for further clues about inflation and the health of the US economy.

Top Movers: Under $10 

Kala Bio Inc (KALA) is up 40.69% today to trade at the current level of $0.41 after announcing that it will launch its first commercial AI product in about 14 days, expanding from biotech into the $180B healthcare AI market.

Actelis Networks Inc (ASNS) zoomed 48.92% in today’s trade to $0.56 after announcing that it received a major order from a Japanese government entity for dozens of MetaLight networking units to support infrastructure modernization in Japan.

In current trading, Scienture Holdings Inc (SCNX) stock is at $0.5 after announcing multiple GPO agreements for REZENOPY nasal spray, expanding access to 5,000+ healthcare institutions and about 60% of the U.S. institutional market.

Signing Day Sports Inc (SGN) rose 13.07% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $0.72. The company announced BlockchAIn has established a collaboration with Supermicro for AI data center hardware.

In the current trading session, Cyngn Inc (CYN) jumped 19.38% to $1.91 over a previous close of $1.6 after announcing continued commercial momentum for its autonomous vehicle solutions, driven by expanding customer deployments, increased utilization across existing sites, and accelerating sales activity entering 2026.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

AMKOR Technology Inc (AMKR) 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 $0.08 per share. It has fixed March 12 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on March 31. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.33 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, AMKR has a trailing yield of 0.74% on the current stock price of $45.17.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Pathward Financial Inc (CASH), having a market capitalization of $1.93B. It will pay a dividend of $0.05 per share, the payment date of which is April 01. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 0.23%.

Shares of Chord Energy Corp (CHRD) will be the talk of the stock market on Thursday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $1.3 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $5.20 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that CHRD has a trailing yield of 4.27% on the current share price of $121.88.

LKQ Corp (LKQ) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from LKQ will amount to $0.3 per share. March 12 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for March 26. In the previous year, LKQ distributed a total of $1.20 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for LKQ stands at 3.91% based on the current stock price of $30.7.

Torm Plc (TRMD) will be paying out a dividend of $0.7 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of business hours on the record date of March 12. Over the past 12 months, TRMD has paid out a total of $2.02 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, TRMD boasts an impressive trailing yield of 7.33% on the current share price of $27.57.

Crypto Market Highlights

• SlowMist introduced a layered security framework for Web3 AI agents, aiming to improve protection as autonomous tools increasingly manage on-chain actions and digital assets.

• Adam Schiff introduced a bill to ban prediction markets tied to war, death, and terrorism, citing concerns about potential insider trading linked to military operations.

• India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Ayush Varshney, co-founder and CTO of Darwin Labs Private Limited, in connection with the long-running GainBitcoin investigation.

• Wells Fargo filed a trademark application covering cryptocurrency trading, payments, and blockchain software services, signaling deeper interest in the digital asset sector.

• Binance announced it is suing The Wall Street Journal after the report claimed the United States Department of Justice was investigating whether Iran used the exchange to evade U.S. sanctions.

Most Shorted Stocks

PureCycle Technologies Inc (PCT) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 31.40% 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 8.5. This represents a change of -1007381 shares, which corresponds to a -2.22% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $254.96 million. The average daily volume stands at 4.38M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $1.04B.

The Indie Semiconductor Inc with the symbol INDI currently has a short interest of 23.64%. The short interest has changed by -1919285 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 11.9. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $129.86 million. On an average day, 3.98M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $591.91M.

With the symbol UPST, the stock currently has a short interest of 31.13%. The short interest change is -4,354,007 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -14.71%. It would take approximately 2.9 days to cover all the short positions. The shares' short value is estimated to be around $977.17 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 5.08M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $2.70B.

The stock TRIP has a current short interest of 21.23%. The short interest percentage has experienced a decrease of -2.63% while there was a change of -644112 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 7.0. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $359.72 million. Trading activity averages at 3.13M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $1.14B.

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 57. 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 Cerence Inc (CRNC) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 56. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak growth. The financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Micron Technology Inc (MU) has the ST Score of 57, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, growth, and Piotroski Score, but weak in financial strength. Stock sentiment and forecasts suggest a neutral outlook.

EPAM Systems Inc (EPAM) stock has the ST Score of 59, which implies that the AI company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. However, it shows a neutral outlook in growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Zoom Communications Inc (ZM) currently has the ST Score of 57, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. The stock's performance, 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

P.S. Want my daily watchlists sent to your cell phone too? Join our WhatsApp Exclusive Community for real-time alerts on hot stocks. Stay ahead with instant updates and exclusive insights!