Lunchtime Rally: Clean Energy Leaders & Hot $10 Stocks

Stocks edged lower on Friday as fresh concerns over tariffs and rising inflation rattled investors to close out the week. Markets took a sharp downturn after Reuters reported that President Donald Trump is considering reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners, potentially raising tariff levels to match those imposed on American goods.

At 11:29 AM ET, the Dow was down -283.68 points, or -0.63396%, at $44463.95. The Nasdaq Composite lost -198.011 points, or -0.90939%, at $21576.053. The S&P 500 declined -41.46 points, or -0.68151%, at $6042.11. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 10 showed negative movement, with Information Technology leading the way with a -1.08% decrease.

Even before the tariff news, markets were already uneasy following consumer sentiment and jobs data that hinted at accelerating inflation. This pushed the 10-year Treasury yield above 5%, adding further pressure on equities.

It’s been a rollercoaster week for stocks. Markets dropped sharply on Monday after Trump announced 10% tariffs on Chinese imports. However, sentiment improved midweek when the president paused the proposed 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, leading to three consecutive days of gains for the S&P 500. But Friday’s renewed tariff fears reversed much of that progress, capping off a volatile week.

Top Movers: Under $10

Conduit Pharmaceuticals Inc (CDT) zoomed 69.03% in today’s trade to $2.62. This rally can be attributed to news that CDT announced the successful completion of all milestones in Phase I of its strategic collaboration with Sarborg Limited

In current trading, MGO Global Inc (MGOL) stock is at $0.34 following news that MGO extends merger agreement with Heidmar.

BigBear.ai Holdings Inc (BBAI) rose 22.58% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $8.30. The strong performance of BBAI stock came as investors were encouraged by the news that BBAI has been awarded a contract by the Department of Defense (DoD) Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) to advance BigBear.ai’s Virtual Anticipation Network (VANE) prototype.

In the current trading session, FibroBiologics Inc (FBLG) jumped 15.62% to $1.85 over a previous close of $1.60 as the Company announced that it will host an in-person analyst day at the New York Marriott Marquis on February 12, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Apple Inc (AAPL) is about to trade ex-dividend Monday, meaning that investors who buy the stock after that will not be eligible for the next dividend payment. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.25 per share. The company has fixed February 10 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on February 13. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.99 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, AAPL has a trailing yield of 0.43% on the current stock price of $229.31.

Shares of Southern Copper Corporation (SCCO) will be the talk of stock market on Monday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.69 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of $2.06 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that SCCO has a trailing yield of 2.12% on the current share price of $97.56.

Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS) is also set to go ex-dividend on Monday. The next dividend payment from LVS will amount to $0.25 per share. February 10 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for February 19. In the previous year, LVS distributed a total of $0.80 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for LVS stands at 1.85% based on the current stock price of $43.29.

International Business Machines Corp (IBM) will be paying out a dividend of $1.67 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of February 10. Over the past 12 months, IBM has paid out a total of $6.67 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, IBM boasts an impressive trailing yield of 2.63% on the current share price of $253.69.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Deribit has announced that, in compliance with EU sanctions, Russian accounts will transition to 'reduce-only' mode beginning February 17, 2025, culminating in the forced closure of all positions by March 29, 2025. The exchange has confirmed that withdrawal functionality will not be affected.

• Crypto meets combat sports as Betpanda.io, a leading crypto casino and sportsbook, teams up with UFC fighter Johnny Walker in a strategic brand ambassadorship.

• Ondo Finance unveils Ondo Chain, a Layer 1 solution designed to bridge decentralized convenience with the security needs of permissioned markets for real-world assets."

• A vocal critic of the SEC, pro-crypto lawyer John Deaton celebrates the agency's decision to move Jorge Tenreiro, one of its enforcement attorneys, to a different role.

• Sony ventures further into the Web3 space with Soneium's launch of its first music NFT collection, showcasing unreleased tracks by NUU$HI in collaboration with Coop Records.

Most Shorted Stocks

B. Riley Financial Inc (RILY) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 62.71% 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 9.4 Days to Cover. This represents a change of -230000 shares, which corresponds to a -2.29% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $44.78 million. The average daily volume stands at 863.60K shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $139.10M.

The Color Star Technology Co Ltd with the symbol ADD currently has a short interest of 54.65%. The short interest has changed by 56700 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 0.2 Days to Cover. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $0.46 million. On an average day, 1.80M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $0.89M.

For the stock Beyond Meat Inc (BYND), the current short interest is at 55.83%. This represents a significant short interest change of 2660000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +8.53%%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 9.2 Days to Cover. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $130.58 million.

With the symbol PBM, the stock currently has a short interest of 43.60%. The short interest change is 165600 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +217.61%%. It would take approximately 0.1 Days to Cover days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $46.69 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 2.60M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $5.39M.

The stock SANA has a current short interest of 40.98%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +35.53%% while there was a change of 13180000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 8.1 Days to Cover. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $0.73 million. Trading activity averages at 6.85M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $678.49M.

Energy Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Western Midstream Partners LP (WES) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Energy industry, attaining an impressive score of 56. The stock's profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score are strong. However, its financial strength is weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Valero Energy Corp (VLO) as a high-quality Energy stock today, presenting a Score of 57. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. The growth, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Baker Hughes Co (BKR) has the ST Score of 57, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score but weak in financial strength. Growth, stock sentiment, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Helmerich & Payne, Inc (HP) stock has the ST Score of 58 which implies that the Energy company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. However, it shows neutral outlook in growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

EOG Resources, Inc (EOG) currently has the ST Score of 61, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Energy stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. The stock's growth, 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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