🎄 Holiday Week Ahead — Thin Liquidity, Big Surprises?

US stocks were choppy on Tuesday after stronger-than-expected economic data showed the US economy grew at a robust 4.3% annualized pace in the third quarter, prompting investors to scale back expectations for near-term interest rate cuts.

Major indexes hovered around flat, while traders increased bets that the Federal Reserve will hold rates steady in January.

Meanwhile, commodities continued to surge, with gold and silver extending a historic rally and copper hitting a record above $12,000 per ton. Markets now turn to consumer confidence data and a shortened holiday trading week ahead of Christmas.

Top Movers: Under $10 

Highway Holdings Ltd (HIHO) is up 131.82% today to trade at the current level of $1.92. This comes after the company announced that it has signed a letter of intent to buy 51% of Germany’s Regent-Feinbau Adermann GmbH, mainly with cash and some unregistered shares.

Trinity Biotech Plc ADR (TRIB) zoomed 53.65% in today’s trade to $1.37. The company signed several agreements with funds managed by Perceptive Advisors to improve financial flexibility and support current and future growth.

In current trading, Euda Health Holdings Limited (EUDA) stock is at $1.76 after announcing that it is accelerating its longevity and regenerative medicine strategy by launching a stem cell therapy platform and opening its first clinic in Shenzhen, China.

Biomerica Inc (BMRA) rose 12.24% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $2.66 after announcing CMS Medicare Payment Rate of $300 for revolutionary inFoods IBS Test.

In the current trading session, Bone Biologics Corp (BBLG) jumped 11.76% to $2.09 over a previous close of $1.87 after announcing that it has received confirmation that the shelf life of its rhNELL-1 product has been extended to 24 months, delivering on previously communicated forecasts.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

Seagate Technology Holdings Plc (STX) 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 $0.74 per share. It has fixed December 24 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on January 09. Last year, the company distributed a total of $2.88 to its shareholders. Based on last year's worth of payments, STX has a trailing yield of 1.03% on the current stock price of $279.82.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends Friday is Alerus Financial Corp (ALRS), having a market capitalization of $565.35M. It will pay a dividend of $0.21 per share, with a payment date of January 9. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 3.68%.

Shares of ArrowMark Financial Corp (BANX) 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 $1.33 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that BANX has a trailing yield of 5.91% on the current share price of $22.44.

CSP Inc (CSPI) is also set to go ex-dividend Friday. The next dividend payment from CSPI will amount to $0.03 per share. December 26 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for January 15. In the previous year, CSPI distributed a total of $0.12 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for CSPI stands at 0.91% based on the current stock price of $13.11.

First Guaranty Bancshares Inc (FGBI) will be paying out a dividend of $0.01 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, FGBI has paid out a total of $0.04 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, FGBI boasts an impressive trailing yield of 0.79% on the current share price of $5.08.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Ethena’s synthetic stablecoin USDe has seen its market cap nearly cut in half since the Oct. 10 crash, as investors pull back from leveraged and synthetic collateral models.

• The Bank of Russia has proposed a policy that would allow non-qualified investors to purchase certain cryptocurrencies.

• South Korean payments processor BC Card has completed a pilot project enabling foreign users to pay local merchants using stablecoins.

• Crypto exchange OKX reported a 53-fold increase in volume in its licensed and regulated markets in 2025, driven by expansion into the United States and the European Economic Area.

• Bybit said it will begin phasing out services for residents of Japan from 2026, introducing gradual account restrictions to comply with local regulations.

• Ethereum treasury company Bitmine surpassed 4 million Ether in holdings this week following a $40 million purchase.

Most Shorted Stocks

Vital Farms Inc (VITL) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 24.92% 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 7.0. This represents a change of -928634 shares, which corresponds to a -9.57% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $287.45 million. The average daily volume stands at 1.68M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $1.47B.

The Marinemax, Inc with the symbol HZO currently has a short interest of 20.41%. The short interest has changed by 75075 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 12.8. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $107.77 million. On an average day, 342.26K shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $550.02M.

For the stock Solaredge Technologies Inc (SEDG), the current short interest is at 19.67%. This represents a significant short interest change of -496353 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -4.08%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 3.5. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $353.72 million.

With the symbol PTLO, the stock currently has a short interest of 19.84%. The short interest change is -215519 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -1.51%. It would take approximately 6.1 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $54.77 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 2.88M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $353.50M.

The stock FOUR has a current short interest of 20.21%. The short interest percentage has experienced decrease of -4.54% while there was a change of -638200 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 7.6. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $907.96 million. Trading activity averages at 2.21M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $5.73B.

EV Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Honda Motor ADR (HMC) emerges as a high-quality stock in the EV industry, attaining an impressive score of 54. The stock's profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Teck Resources Ltd (TECK) as a high-quality EV stock today, presenting a Score of 52. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak growth. The performance, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, BorgWarner Inc (BWA) has the ST Score of 51, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in performance and Piotroski Score, but weak in growth. Profitability, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecasts suggest a neutral outlook.

Aptiv PLC (APTV) stock has the ST Score of 54, which implies that the EV company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses lie in its growth. However, it shows neutral outlook in financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Cirrus Logic, Inc (CRUS) currently has the ST Score of 54, which signifies a huge upward potential. The EV stock's strong points are its profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its performance and 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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