Afternoon Insights: Big Energy Winners & Budget Stocks

Stocks rallied Friday but remained on track for steep weekly losses as volatility continues to grip Wall Street.

As of 11:31 AM ET, the Dow was up 564.07 points, or 1.38206%, at $41377.64. The Nasdaq Composite added 406.34 points, or 2.11355%, at $19631.822. The S&P 500 rose 97.75 points, or 1.77035%, at $5619.27. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 11 showed positive movement, with Information Technology leading the way with a 1.23% increase.

Sentiment on Wall Street got a boost on Friday as it appeared a government shutdown would be avoided. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced that he wouldn’t block a Republican government funding bill.

Investors are now gearing up for the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting scheduled for next week, with Fed funds futures pricing in a 97% likelihood of interest rates holding steady, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.

Top Movers: Under $10

Bon Natural Life Ltd (BON) is up 159.62% today to trade at the current level of $1.91. This comes after the company filed an F-1/A form with the SEC.

SUNation Energy Inc (SUNE) zoomed 67.24% in today’s trade to $0.54 after announcing that it has repaid in full all of the accrued principal and interest associated with a total of $9.4 million in senior and junior secured loans with maturity dates ranging between July 2025 and June 2027.

In current trading, SEALSQ Corp (LAES) stock is at $3.15 after announcing that it has made substantial progress after launching last month SEALQUANTUM.com, an ambitious investment and acquisitions strategy aimed at accelerating its quantum computing and AI initiatives.

Sidus Space Inc (SIDU) rose 13.43% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $1.99 following the announcement that Sidus Space's LizzieSat™-3 is set for liftoff during the launch window opening tonight, March 14, 2024, at 11:39 PM PDT.

In the current trading session, D-Wave Quantum Inc (QBTS) jumped 41.97% to $9.81 over a previous close of $6.91 after reporting fourth quarter and year-end 2024 results.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Boyd Gaming Corp (BYD) is about to trade ex-dividend Monday, 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 $0.18 per share. It has fixed March 17 as the record date and will pay the actual dividend on April 15. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.68 to its shareholders. Based on last year's payments, BYD has a trailing yield of 1.01%, and the current stock price is $67.34.

Shares of Hess Corporation (HES) will be the talk of the stock market on Monday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.5 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $1.88 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that HES has a trailing yield of 1.28% on the current share price of $145.99.

Merck & Co Inc (MRK) is also set to go ex-dividend on Monday. The next dividend payment from MRK will amount to $0.81 per share. March 17 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for April 07. In the previous year, MRK distributed a total of $3.12 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for MRK stands at 3.33% based on the current stock price of $93.80.

Western Union Company (WU) will be paying out a dividend of $0.23 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of March 17. Over the past 12 months, WU has paid out a total of $0.94 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, WU boasts an impressive trailing yield of 8.78% on the current share price of $10.70.

Crypto Market Highlights

• World Liberty Financial, a DeFi project backed by the Trump family, completed its second public token sale, raising $250 million from investors.

• Russian companies are using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and USDt for trade with China and India amid international sanctions, according to a Reuters report.

• REX Shares launched its Bitcoin Corporate Treasury Convertible Bond (BMAX) ETF, investing in convertible bonds of companies with a BTC corporate reserve strategy, with over $6 billion in assets under management.

• A new bill in Congress aims to formalize President Trump's executive order establishing a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, potentially integrating Bitcoin into the nation's financial strategy.

• ZKsync's DeFi Steering Committee announced it will not renew the ZKsync Ignite liquidity reward program as it shifts focus to broader network expansion.

• Hong Kong-based crypto payment platform RedotPay raised $40 million in a Series A funding round, led by Lightspeed with participation from HSG and Galaxy Ventures. 

Most Shorted Stocks

MicroCloud Hologram Inc (HOLO) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 45.84% 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 1420000 shares, which corresponds to a +17.86% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $8.62 million. The average daily volume stands at 34.55M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $18.86M.

The Symbotic Inc with the symbol SYM currently has a short interest of 42.57%. The short interest has changed by 310000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 8.1. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $393.93 million. On an average day, 2.09M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $12.76B.

For the stock Kirkland's Inc (KIRK), the current short interest is at 41.60%. This represents a significant short interest change of 150000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +11.45%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 8.2. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $1.85 million.

With the symbol GOGO, the stock currently has a short interest of 39.50%. The short interest change is 950000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +4.10%. It would take approximately 21.7 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $10.15 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 1.13M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $874.16M.

The stock HEPA has a current short interest of 39.36%. The short interest percentage has experienced a decrease of -12.42% while there was a change of -590000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 0.2. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $0.72 million. Trading activity averages at 25.07M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $0.30M.

Energy Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Dynagas LNG Partners LP (DLNG) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Energy industry, attaining an impressive score of 62. The stock's profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score are strong. However, its performance and growth are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Epsilon Energy Ltd (EPSN) as a high-quality Energy stock today, presenting a Score of 61. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak growth. The profitability, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, PrimeEnergy Resources Corp (PNRG) has the ST Score of 60, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score. Growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Dorchester Minerals LP (DMLP) stock has the ST Score of 57 which implies that the Energy company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. However, it shows a neutral outlook in performance, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Nacco Industries Inc (NC) currently has the ST Score of 57, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Energy stock's strong points are its performance, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its profitability. The stock's growth, financial strength, 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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