Market Spotlight: AI Game-Changers & $10 Power Plays

Stocks pulled back slightly Wednesday as investors braced for the first Federal Reserve interest rate decision of 2025 and key earnings from major tech giants. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite edged lower, while Nvidia gave back some gains from its strong performance in the previous session.

As of 11:18 AM ET, the Dow was up 1.36 points, or 0.00303231%, at $44851.71. The Nasdaq Composite lost -99.867 points, or -0.4653%, at $21363.17. The S&P 500 declined -23.82 points, or -0.39257%, at $6043.88. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 7 showed positive movement, with Utilities leading the way with a 1.78% increase.

Adding to the market’s focus, earnings from Big Tech heavyweights Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Tesla are set to be released after the closing bell. These reports will provide crucial insight into the sustainability of the AI-driven rally that has fueled recent market gains.

Top Movers: Under $10

Signing Day Sports Inc (SGN) is up 158.69% today to trade at the current level of $5.02. This comes after the company announced the signing of a Stock Purchase Agreement (SPA) to acquire 99.13% of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Dear Cashmere Group Holding Company (DRCR), doing business as Swifty Global.

Silexion Therapeutics Corp (SLXN) zoomed 81.47% in today’s trade to $2.45 following a new market update from PESG Research, highlighting Silexion Therapeutics' breakthrough preclinical data on SIL-204, which could revolutionize treatment for KRAS-driven cancers and solidify its position in the precision oncology space.

In current trading, 60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals Inc (SXTP) stock is at $1.01 after announcing $1.043 million registered direct offering priced at-the-market under Nasdaq rules.

Ocean Biomedical Inc (OCEA) rose 16.97% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $0.39 after announcing that its Scientific Co-founder, Dr. Jonathan Kurtis, MD, PhD, and his research team have received additional significant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance their groundbreaking malaria vaccine research.

In the current trading session, Siyata Mobile Inc (SYTA) jumped 15.02% to $5.91 over a previous close of $5.14 after announcing a new order for several thousand SD7 handsets and related accessories for a new customer, a major transit authority serving the western United States.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

AZZ Inc (AZZ) 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 $0.17 per share. It has fixed January 30 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on February 20. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.68 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, AZZ has a trailing yield of 0.79% on the current stock price of $86.34.

Shares of Mesabi Trust (MSB) will be the talk of stock market on Thursday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $5.95 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $1.35 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that MSB has a trailing yield of 3.86% on the current share price of $34.96.

Tomorrow, Valero Energy Corp (VLO) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from VLO will amount to $1.13 per share. January 30 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for March 03. In the previous year, VLO distributed a total of $4.28 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for VLO stands at 3.06% based on the current stock price of $139.85.

Agree Realty Corp (ADC) will be paying out a dividend of $0.25 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of January 31. Over the past 12 months, ADC has paid out a total of $3.00 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, ADC boasts an impressive trailing yield of 4.13% on the current share price of $72.60.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) is expanding into financial services and cryptocurrencies with the launch of Truth.Fi.

• Zodia Custody, co-owned by Standard Chartered, now supports institutional custody for native assets on The Open Network (TON) through its Jetton token standard.

• Cardano is preparing for a major upgrade to implement a fully decentralized voting system.

• Mobile cryptocurrency users have reached an all-time high, with more passive holders becoming active participants, reflecting growing mainstream adoption.

• Tangem, a self-custodial cryptocurrency wallet, has been granted a US patent for its private key backup technology.

Most Shorted Stocks

Beyond Meat Inc (BYND) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 51.44% 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 9.5. This represents a change of 3580000 shares, which corresponds to a +12.98% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $127.49 million. The average daily volume stands at 3.81M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $266.68M.

The Medical Properties Trust Inc with the symbol MPW currently has a short interest of 44.47%. The short interest has changed by -5790000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 18.7. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $1.0 billion. On an average day, 12.76M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $2.61B.

For the stock Kohl's Corp (KSS), the current short interest is at 40.43%. This represents a significant short interest change of -6440000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -12.69%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 5.0. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $587.42 million.

With the symbol SAVA, the stock currently has a short interest of 34.57%. The short interest change is -990000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -5.62%. It would take approximately 3.0 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $103.66 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 5.70M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $112.34M.

The stock BMEA has a current short interest of 36.48%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +6.16% while there was a change of 670000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 12.9. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $70.18 million. Trading activity averages at 888.41K shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $152.93M.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Vertiv Holdings Co (VRT) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 57. The stock's profitability, and Piotroski Score are strong. However, its performance, and financial strength are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Digital Realty Trust Inc (DLR) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 56. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak financial strength. The performance, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, iRhythm Technologies Inc (IRTC) has the ST Score of 56, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in performance, and financial strength. Profitability, growth, stock sentiment, piotroski score, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

ServiceNow Inc (NOW) 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 profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its financial strength. However, it shows neutral outlook in growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

EPAM Systems Inc (EPAM) currently has the ST Score of 60, 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. 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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