Afternoon Insights: Hot EV Stocks & Hidden $10 Picks

Stocks dipped modestly on Tuesday as markets prepared to close out another stellar year. The S&P 500 is on track for its second consecutive annual gain exceeding 20%, driven by optimism around rate cuts, economic resilience, and the transformative potential of artificial intelligence.

As of 11:23 AM ET, the Dow was up 7.4 points, or 0.02%, at $42581.14. The Nasdaq Composite lost -72.37 points, or -0.3414%, at $21124.7154. The S&P 500 declined -8.55 points, or -0.14%, at $5898.4. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 10 showed negative movement, with Consumer Defensive leading the way with a -0.75% decrease.

AI enthusiasm played a central role in powering significant gains for major indexes in 2024. The “Magnificent Seven” stocks, including Nvidia—an AI chip leader—and Apple, surged to new highs, propelling the broader market to record levels.

However, Wall Street is ending the year on a cautious note. December has been a weaker month for equities, as investors lock in profits from 2024’s biggest winners and concerns about rising rates resurface. So far, the Dow has slid 4.8% this month, the S&P 500 is down 1.7%, and the Nasdaq has managed a 1.7% gain.

Top Movers: Under $10

Brera Holdings PLC (BREA) is up 18.33% today to trade at the current level of $0.87. This comes after the company announced the initial closing under its agreement to acquire a 52 percent stake in Italian Serie B football club SS Juve Stabia srl, known as “The Second Team of Naples,” from existing majority owner XX Settembre srl, the holding company of Club President Andrea Langella.

Baird Medical Investment Holdings Limited (BDMD) zoomed 585.81% in today’s trade to $7.20. The company supported and participated in the 2024 Guangdong Provincial Parathyroid Disease - Southern Yue Forum, held in Guangzhou, China.

In current trading, Aptorum Group Ltd (APM) stock is at $5.65 with investor optimism fueled by the company’s improved earnings performance during the first half of the year.

TC BioPharm (Holdings) plc ADR (TCBP) rose 31.56% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $0.64 after announcing that it has advanced negotiations with both of its previously aforementioned acquisition candidates.

In the current trading session, Veru Inc (VERU) jumped 25.89% to $0.80 over a previous close of $0.64 after announcing that it has sold its FC2 Female Condom® business to clients managed by Riva Ridge Capital Management LP, a New York City-based investment management firm as well as other co-investors, for $18 million, subject to adjustment as set forth in the purchase agreement.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Cardinal Health, Inc (CAH) is about to trade ex-dividend Thursday, meaning that investors who buy the stock after Thursday will not be eligible for the next dividend payment. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.51 per share. The company has fixed January 02 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on January 15. Last year, the company distributed a total of $2.01 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, CAH has a trailing yield of 1.70% on the current stock price of $118.67.

Shares of Air Products & Chemicals Inc (APD) will be the talk of stock market on Thursday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $1.77 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of $7.06 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that APD has a trailing yield of 2.44% on the current share price of $289.74.

Realty Income Corp (O) is also set to go ex-dividend Thursday. The next dividend payment from O will amount to $0.26 per share. January 02 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for January 15. In the previous year, O distributed a total of $2.87 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for O stands at 5.40% based on the current stock price of $53.17.

State Street Corp (STT) will be paying out a dividend of $0.76 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of January 02. Over the past 12 months, STT has paid out a total of $2.83 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, STT boasts an impressive trailing yield of 2.88% on the current share price of $98.33.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Montenegrin authorities handed over Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon to U.S. law enforcement after a months-long extradition dispute.

• Cryptocurrency wallet provider Tangem fixed a critical security vulnerability that exposed users' private keys via emails, following Redditors' warnings.

• Franklin Templeton expects more countries to adopt strategic Bitcoin reserves in 2025, according to its digital assets outlook.

• A South Korean court issued an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol, marking the first time a sitting South Korean president has faced such a warrant.

• Shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR) dropped over 8% following its $209 million Bitcoin purchase on Dec. 30, raising concerns over its leveraged strategy.

Most Shorted Stocks

Trupanion Inc (TRUP) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 28.72% 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 15.1. This represents a change of -20000 shares, which corresponds to a -0.23% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $414.1 million. The average daily volume stands at 573.45K shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $2.03B.

The Luminar Technologies Inc with the symbol LAZR currently has a short interest of 29.07%. The short interest has changed by -340000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 2.9. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $42.62 million. On an average day, 2.66M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $179.94M.

For the stock Zynex Inc (ZYXI), the current short interest is at 27.74%. This represents a significant short interest change of 20000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +0.43%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 52.7. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $37.63 million.

With the symbol OMGA, the stock currently has a short interest of 28.30%. The short interest change is -200000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -3.53%. It would take approximately 17.6 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $3.67 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 321.76K shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $43.18M.

The stock LMND has a current short interest of 28.96%. The short interest percentage has experienced decrease of -1.29% while there was a change of -200000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 6.4. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $204.91 million. Trading activity averages at 2.50M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $2.67B.

EV Stocks to Watch

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

Our ST Score also classifies Cirrus Logic, Inc (CRUS) as a high-quality EV stock today, presenting a Score of 62. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak performance, and growth. The stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, FREYR Battery Inc (FREY) has the ST Score of 58, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in performance, and financial strength but weak in growth, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast. Profitability suggest a neutral outlook.

Teck Resources Ltd (TECK) stock has the ST Score of 56 which implies that the EV company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its performance, and growth. However, it shows neutral outlook in financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Honda Motor ADR (HMC) currently has the ST Score of 55, which signifies a huge upward potential. The EV stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its growth. The stock's 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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