Holiday Trading Alert: Early Closes, Big Opportunities ⏰💸

US markets were mixed early Wednesday after the S&P 500 notched another record, keeping Wall Street on track for a strong finish heading into the Christmas holiday.

The Dow edged higher while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hovered near flat, as investors weighed resilient economic data against shifting expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Strong third-quarter GDP growth tempered near-term rate cut bets, even as consumer confidence weakened, while gold surged to a record high amid geopolitical tensions and rate-cut hopes.

Markets close early on Wednesday and remain shut Thursday, with optimism building for a potential “Santa Claus” rally after several days of gains.

Top Movers: Under $10 

Repare Therapeutics Inc (RPTX) is up 19.61% today to trade at the current level of $2.60. This comes after the company announced a definitive asset purchase agreement for Gilead Sciences, Inc. to acquire Repare’s polymerase theta (Polθ) ATPase inhibitor, RP-3467.

Dermata Therapeutics Inc (DRMA) zoomed 20.83% in today’s trade to $2.46 after announcing up to $12.4 million private placement priced at-the-market under Nasdaq Rules.

In current trading, Multi Ways Holdings Ltd (MWG) stock is at $0.44 after reporting 88% revenue growth in the first half of 2025.

Iczoom Group Inc (IZM) rose 28.90% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $2.32 after announcing an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders.

In the current trading session, Eastern International Ltd (ELOG) jumped 15.49% to $1.64 over a previous close of $1.42 after announcing that its wholly owned subsidiary has signed a construction contract for the Hebei Laiyuan 300 MW photovoltaic power project.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

Heartland Express, Inc (HTLD) is about to trade ex-dividend Friday, meaning that investors who buy the stock after Friday will not be eligible for the next dividend payment. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.02 per share. It has fixed December 26 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on January 07. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.08 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, HTLD has a trailing yield of 0.87% on the current stock price of $9.15.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends Friday is National Research Corp (NRC), having a market capitalization of $433.33M. It will pay a dividend of $0.16 per share, with a payment date of January 9. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 2.51%.

Shares of Playtika Holding Corp (PLTK) will be the talk of the stock market on Friday 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 PLTK has a trailing yield of 9.90% on the current share price of $4.04.

Townebank Portsmouth VA (TOWN) is also set to go ex-dividend Friday. The next dividend payment from TOWN will amount to $0.27 per share. December 26 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for January 07. In the previous year, TOWN distributed a total of $1.04 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for TOWN stands at 3.06% based on the current stock price of $34.03.

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc (XRAY) will be paying out a dividend of $0.16 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of December 26. Over the past 12 months, XRAY has paid out a total of $0.64 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, XRAY boasts an impressive trailing yield of 5.77% on the current share price of $11.09.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Hong Kong’s FSTB and SFC will introduce licensing requirements for virtual asset dealing and custody firms, expanding the city’s policy push that already includes a stablecoin licensing blueprint and tokenization guidance.

• Aave founder Stani Kulechov is facing criticism after a $10 million AAVE purchase ahead of a key DAO vote, with critics raising concerns about voting power concentration.

• The USD1 stablecoin added $150 million to its market capitalization after Binance announced an incentive program offering up to 20% yield.

• Several blockchain startups once valued near $1 billion now have market capitalizations that are only a fraction of those figures, as tighter liquidity forces valuation resets, according to CryptoRank data.

• Crypto.com is hiring an internal market maker for its prediction markets, saying the move complies with regulations and aims to boost liquidity amid scrutiny.

Most Shorted Stocks

Replimune Group Inc (REPL) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 20.54% 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 9.9. This represents a change of -1423545 shares, which corresponds to a -8.53% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $155.03 million. The average daily volume stands at 4.17M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $796.41M.

The Sweetgreen Inc with the symbol SG currently has a short interest of 24.14%. The short interest has changed by -869874 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 4.1. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $159.29 million. On an average day, 5.90M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $823.29M.

For the stock Sally Beauty Holdings Inc (SBH), the current short interest is at 19.65%. This represents a significant short interest change of 472192 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of 2.57%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 11.4. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $286.05 million.

With the symbol FUN, the stock currently has a short interest of 19.54%. The short interest change is 2141511 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of 12.36%. It would take approximately 4.1 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $266.25 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 4.01M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $1.43B.

The stock WHLR has a current short interest of 79.63%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of 61.57% while there was a change of 100751 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 1.6. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $37.19 million. Trading activity averages at 1.74M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $3.41M.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Monolithic Power System Inc (MPWR) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 57. The stock's profitability and financial strength are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of performance, growth, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Autodesk Inc (ADSK) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 55. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak growth, and financial strength. The stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) has the ST Score of 55, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, growth, and Piotroski Score. Financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecasts suggest a neutral outlook.

iRhythm Technologies Inc (IRTC) stock has the ST Score of 54, which implies that the AI company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its performance and financial strength. However, it shows neutral outlook in profitability, growth, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Lattice Semiconductor Corp (LSCC) currently has the ST Score of 54, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its growth, stock sentiment, and forecast. The stock indicates a neutral outlook.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading. Good luck out there!

Best Regards,

Stocks Telegraph Team

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