Market Update: Key AI Stocks & $10 Investment Gems

Stocks were relatively flat on Wednesday as Wall Street awaited the first Federal Reserve interest rate cut in four years. While a rate reduction is widely expected at 2 p.m. ET, uncertainty remains around the size of the cut. According to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, there is a 61% chance of a half-point cut and a 39% chance of a quarter-point move. This level of uncertainty is unusual, as the Fed typically signals its intentions in advance.

As of 11:30 AM ET, the Dow was down -49.98 points, or -0.1201%, at $41556.21. The Nasdaq Composite lost -6.27 points, or -0.0323%, at $19426.1274. The S&P 500 declined -4.9502 points, or -0.0879%, at $5629.63. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 9 showed negative movement, with Materials leading the way with a 0.92% decrease

The prospect of a larger cut has gained traction in recent days, departing from the earlier consensus of a quarter-point reduction. A rate-cutting cycle is anticipated to support a slowing economy and drive an already strong market even higher. The S&P 500, already up 18% this year, could see further gains, with historical data indicating a potential 16% average increase in the 12 months following the start of a rate-cut cycle.

Top Movers: Under $10

Applied Therapeutics Inc (APLT) is up 69.79% today to trade at the current level of $7.90. The big gain followed the FDA's decision that an Advisory Committee meeting for the New Drug Application (NDA) of govorestat, a treatment for galactosemia, was no longer necessary.

Intuitive Machines Inc (LUNR) zoomed 57.31% in today’s trade to $8.49 after the company secured a contract with NASA that could be worth nearly $5 billion.

In current trading, Vivos Therapeutics Inc (VVOS) stock is at $3.76 after securing FDA approval for DNA appliance to treat snoring In children.

Immunic Inc (IMUX) rose 23.60% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $1.99. The company announced key data presentation at the 40th ECTRIMS Congress, showcasing the potential of its leading asset, vidofludimus calcium (IMU-838), for treating multiple sclerosis.

In the current trading session, Safe Pro Group Inc (SPAI) jumped 16.95% to $3.68 over a previous close of $3.15. The company received a Notice of Allowance from the USPTO for its innovative technology that uses AI-powered SpotlightAI™ to identify, locate, and map explosives.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Broadcom Inc (AVGO) 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 $0.53 per share. It has fixed September 19 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on September 30. Last year, the company distributed a total of $20.35 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, AVGO has a trailing yield of 12.49% on the current stock price of $162.99.

Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (HPE) will be the talk of stock market on Thursday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.13 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of $0.51 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that HPE has a trailing yield of 2.81% on the current share price of $18.13.

UWM Holdings Corporation (UWMC) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from UWMC will amount to $0.1 per share. September 19 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for October 10. In the previous year, UWMC distributed a total of $0.40 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for UWMC stands at 4.57% based on the current stock price of $8.74.

Synovus Financial Corp. (SNV) will be paying out a dividend of $0.38 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of September 19. Over the past 12 months, SNV has paid out a total of $1.52 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, SNV boasts an impressive trailing yield of 3.41% on the current share price of $44.62.

Crypto Market Highlights

• A new digital asset exchange, TrueX, launched by former Coinbase executives, will utilize PayPal’s stablecoin for settlements.

• Infinex's latest NFT collection has generated over $40 million in sales within its first four days, despite a general downturn in the NFT market.

• The Open Network (TON) has secured a $30 million strategic investment from Bitget to enhance the development of TON applications on Telegram. 

• BitGo, backed by Goldman Sachs, is entering the stablecoin market with the launch of a new US dollar-pegged stablecoin.

• BNB Chain is upgrading its infrastructure to support gasless transactions for stablecoins.

Most Shorted Stocks

Harmony Biosciences Holdings Inc (HRMY) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 28.55% 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 23.5. This represents a change of 30000 shares, which corresponds to a +0.34% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $341.46 million. The average daily volume stands at 379.31K shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $2.22B.

The Altimmune Inc with the symbol ALT currently has a short interest of 31.03%. The short interest has changed by 300000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 6.7. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $164.12 million. On an average day, 3.34M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $530.18M.

For the stock Blink Charging Co (BLNK), the current short interest is at 27.80%. This represents a significant short interest change of 1760000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +6.68%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 5.6. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $51.97 million.

With the symbol VFS, the stock currently has a short interest of 29.31%. The short interest change is -810000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -18.20%. It would take approximately 3.0 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $110.11 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 1.12M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $9.03B.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Sap SE ADR (SAP) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 55. The stock's profitability, performance, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score are strong. However, its growth, and financial strength are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of forecast.

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

Another stock in the category, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) has the ST Score of 54, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in performance, growth, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score but weak in profitability. Financial strength, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

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

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) currently has the ST Score of 52, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its growth, and financial strength. The stock's forecast indicate a neutral outlook.

Best Regards,
Stocks Telegraph Team