🔍 Friday Market Fallout + 5 Stocks Surging Under $10

U.S. stocks closed lower Friday amid escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China. President Trump threatened a “massive increase” in tariffs following retaliatory moves by Beijing, including port fees on American ships and an antitrust probe into Qualcomm. The Dow fell 0.6%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.8%, and the Nasdaq slid over 1%.

Market sentiment was further dampened by concerns over a prolonged U.S. government shutdown, now in its 10th day, delaying key economic data.

A weak consumer sentiment reading added to the gloom ahead of next week’s earnings kickoff, where analysts expect softer results due to tariff impacts.

Top Movers: Under $10 

ScanTech AI Systems Inc (STAI) is up 47.08% today to trade at the current level of $0.66. This comes after the company announced that it has entered into a Purchase Agreement establishing an equity line of credit of up to $50 million with ARC Group International Ltd., a global financial services firm.

Prestige Wealth Inc (PWM) zoomed 17.20% in today’s trade to $1.22 after announcing its entry into and the closing of a set of coordinated transactions to initiate NASDAQ’s first Tether Gold (XAU₮) treasury.

In current trading, Leifras Co Ltd ADR (LFS) stock is at $3.93 after announcing the closing of the initial public offering.

Super League Enterprise Inc (SLE) rose 18.96% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $4.24 after announcing an exclusive sales partnership with ES3, a leading technology and media solutions company specializing in interactive content experiences for connected TV (CTV) and traditional Pay TV environments.

In the current trading session, Eightco Holdings Inc (ORBS) jumped 23.09% to $10.39 over a previous close of $8.44 after announcing the launch of a new pilot program focused on advancing AI authentication for the enterprise.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

OFS Credit Company Inc (OCCI) is about to trade ex-dividend Oct 15, meaning that investors who buy the stock after Oct 15 will not be eligible for the next dividend payment. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.12 per share. It has fixed October 15 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on October 31. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.38 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, OCCI has a trailing yield of 25.27% on the current stock price of $5.46.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends on Oct 15 is Phillips Edison & Company Inc (PECO), having a market capitalization of $4.68B. It will pay a dividend of $0.11 per share, the payment date of which is November 04. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 3.63%.

Shares of VSE Corp (VSEC) will be the talk of the stock market on Oct 15 as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.1 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.40 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that VSEC has a trailing yield of 0.25% on the current share price of $161.07.

Horizon Technology Finance Corp (HRZN) is also set to go ex-dividend on Oct 16. The next dividend payment from HRZN will amount to $0.11 per share. November 17 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for December 16. In the previous year, HRZN distributed a total of $1.32 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for HRZN stands at 21.93% based on the current stock price of $6.02.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc (CBRL) will be paying out a dividend of $0.25 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of business hours on the record date of October 17. Over the past 12 months, CBRL has paid out a total of $1.00 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, CBRL boasts an impressive trailing yield of 2.44% on the current share price of $40.9.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Shuffle, a major crypto betting platform, suffered a data breach due to a third-party customer service provider compromise, exposing most user data.

• Kalshi, a U.S.-based prediction marketplace, raised over $300 million in Series D funding led by Sequoia Capital and a16z, aiming to expand to 100+ countries.

• Hackers targeted Binance co-founder CZ’s account, with suspicions pointing to state-backed groups like North Korea’s Lazarus Group.

• South Africans can now use crypto for payments at thousands of retail stores via a partnership between Scan to Pay and MoneyBadger.

• HashKey Group, owner of Hong Kong's top licensed crypto exchange, has reportedly filed for an IPO in Hong Kong.

Most Shorted Stocks

Kala Bio Inc (KALA) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 11.40% 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 3.1. This represents a change of 230900 shares, which corresponds to a +54.96% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $0.99 million. The average daily volume stands at 972.87K shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $10.67M.

The Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc with the symbol KPTI currently has a short interest of 27.81%. The short interest has changed by 20000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 12.8. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $12.56 million. On an average day, 227.83K shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $49.52M.

For the stock Upstart Holdings Inc (UPST), the current short interest is at 22.79%. This represents a significant short interest change of 830000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +3.93%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 3.2. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $1.17 billion.

With the symbol NOG, the stock currently has a short interest of 22.89%. The short interest change is -410000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of 1.86%. It would take approximately 12.0 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $510.31 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 1.87M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $2.27B.

The stock UPXI has a current short interest of 23.71%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of +128.78% while there was a change of 6980000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 1.5. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $155.73 million. Trading activity averages at 8.58M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $422.82M.

Energy Stocks to Watch

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

Our ST Score also classifies New England Realty Associates LP (NEN) as a high-quality Energy stock today, presenting a Score of 58. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak performance. The growth, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Natural Gas Services Group, Inc (NGS) has the ST Score of 53, 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.

CKX Lands Inc (CKX) stock has the ST Score of 51, which implies that the Energy company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability and financial strength, but its weaknesses are in its performance and growth. However, it shows neutral outlook in stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Nacco Industries Inc (NC) currently has the ST Score of 54, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Energy stock's strong points are its profitability, growth, and financial strength, while its weak points are its performance. The stock's stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, 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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