Market Review: AI Innovators & Budget $10 Opportunities

Stocks climbed on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Composite hitting a fresh all-time high as investors celebrated Alphabet's stronger-than-expected earnings and looked forward to more reports from mega-cap tech companies. Tech giants Meta Platforms and Microsoft are set to report earnings later today, followed by Apple and Amazon on Thursday.

As of, 11:37 AM ET, the Dow was up 172.07 points, or 0.4074%, at $42405.13. The Nasdaq Composite lost -55.81 points, or -0.27%, at $20494.84. The S&P 500 rose 11.13 points, or 0.1908%, at $5844.04. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 6 showed positive movement, with Energy leading the way with a 1.44% increase.

On the economic front, data presented a mixed picture. The U.S. economy grew at a slower-than-expected rate in the third quarter, with GDP rising at a 2.8% annualized rate, falling short of economists' expectations for 3.1%, according to Dow Jones.

However, the labor market showed strength. The latest ADP report for October revealed a jump in private job creation, marking its highest level in over a year, pointing to a stronger-than-expected labor market. Investors are watching closely as economic and earnings reports continue to shape the market.

Top Movers: Under $10

Tharimmune Inc (THAR) is up 117.24% today to trade at the current level of $4.41. This comes after the company received positive feedback from a Scientific Advice meeting with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) that included guidance on a planned Phase 2 trial to advance TH104.

Unisys Corp. (UIS) zoomed 30.76% in today’s trade to $7.03 after releasing a new report that shows employees and employers alike believe AI positively affects their work environment.

In current trading, ASP Isotopes Inc (ASPI) stock is at $7.57. The company announced that it has entered into a term sheet with TerraPower, a nuclear innovation company and advanced nuclear energy developer.

Xilio Therapeutics Inc (XLO) rose 26.26% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $1.25. The company will present initial Phase 1C data on XTX101 (vilastobart) combined with atezolizumab for advanced solid tumors at the SITC 39th Annual Meeting in Houston, Texas.

In the current trading session, Solidion Technology Inc (STI) jumped 27.73% to $0.51 over a previous close of $0.40 after announcing that its battery scientists have successfully developed a cost-effective strategy for enabling completion of charging in 5 minutes for a wide range of lithium batteries.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Conagra Brands Inc (CAG) 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 $0.35 per share. It has fixed October 31 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on November 27. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.40 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, CAG has a trailing yield of 4.78% on the current stock price of $29.27.

Shares of Morgan Stanley (MS) will be the talk of stock market on Thursday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.93 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $3.48 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that MS has a trailing yield of 2.93% on the current share price of $118.58.

Tomorrow, NiSource Inc (NI) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from NI will amount to $0.27 per share. October 31 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for November 20. In the previous year, NI distributed a total of $1.04 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for NI stands at 2.99% based on the current stock price of $34.90.

Targa Resources Corp (TRGP) will be paying out a dividend of $0.75 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of October 31. Over the past 12 months, TRGP has paid out a total of $2.50 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, TRGP boasts an impressive trailing yield of 1.50% on the current share price of $166.55.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Libeara and FundBridge Capital have launched a tokenized U.S. Treasurys fund on a public blockchain for investors. 

• Starknet, an Ethereum layer-2 solution, achieved a peak of 857 transactions per second during a controlled stress test.

• The Nillion network secured $25 million in funding to enhance its decentralized privacy platform, marking its second fundraising round this year.

• Visa users with eligible debit cards will soon be able to instantly deposit and withdraw funds from Coinbase accounts, thanks to a new partnership.

• Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis is urging the state's retirement fund agency to consider investing in Bitcoin, following a trend among U.S. states to include crypto in their portfolios.

Most Shorted Stocks

ImmunityBio Inc (IBRX) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 32.33% 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 18.4. This represents a change of -1100000 shares, which corresponds to a -2.09% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $296.07 million. The average daily volume stands at 4.51M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $4.00B.

The Kohl's Corp. with the symbol KSS currently has a short interest of 31.97%. The short interest has changed by -2600000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 5.2. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $658.62 million. On an average day, 6.65M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $2.10B.

For the stock Zynex Inc (ZYXI), the current short interest is at 30.58%. This represents a significant short interest change of -40000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -0.76%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 37.6. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $46.24 million.

With the symbol PLUG, the stock currently has a short interest of 27.72%. The short interest change is -9210000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -3.64%. It would take approximately 6.4 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $11.0 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 37.93M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $1.87B.

The stock LMND has a current short interest of 31.16%. The short interest percentage has experienced decrease of -0.99% while there was a change of -160000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 12.1. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $4.59 billion. Trading activity averages at 1.30M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $1.34B.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 64. 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 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ADR (TSM) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 61. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, growth, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak financial strength. The stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, ServiceNow Inc (NOW) has the ST Score of 58, 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.

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

Vertiv Holdings Co (VRT) currently has the ST Score of 56, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its financial strength. The stock's growth, stock sentiment, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.