Midday Insights: Emerging EV Stocks & $10 Gems

The S&P 500 reached a record high on Tuesday as the market braces for the Federal Reserve's key interest rate decision. This all-time high is notable given September's historical reputation as a tough month, often averaging a 1.3% monthly loss over the past decade. Traders have overcome recent economic concerns, including disappointing jobs and manufacturing data in August that initially led to a sell-off. However, market sentiment has improved with more positive data releases and expectations of a Fed rate cut.

As of 11:54 AM ET, the Dow was up 106 points, or 0.2547%, at $41728.08. The Nasdaq Composite added 84.16 points, or 0.4333%, at $19507.2189. The S&P 500 rose 21.8203 points, or 0.3874%, at $5654.91. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 6 showed negative movement, with Information Technology leading the way with a -0.46% decrease.

Wall Street eagerly awaits the Fed's decision on Wednesday, with hopes that a rate cut could stimulate earnings growth for companies facing high borrowing costs and inflation. Retail sales data for August came in stronger than expected, with a 0.1% increase versus the anticipated 0.2% decline. Despite the optimism, the market remains divided on the extent of the rate cut. Current projections show a 59% chance of a 50 basis point reduction, a figure that's been fluctuating recently. While a significant cut could be seen as a boost, it may also raise concerns about the economy's underlying health.

Top Movers: Under $10

BurgerFi International Inc (BFI) is up 91.49% today to trade at the current level of $0.23. This comes after the company received approval of first day motions to support business operations.

Datasea Inc (DTSS) zoomed 30.86% in today’s trade to $2.96 after announcing that its Chinese subsidiaries, Shuhai Information Technology and Guozhong Times (Beijing), have agreed to provide Qingdao Ruizhi Yixing with advanced 5G-AI services.

In current trading, Gevo Inc (GEVO) stock is at $1.68 after announcing that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted to Gevo, a patent for its ethanol to olefins process.

Laser Photonics Corp (LASE) rose 19.01% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $7.20. The company announced that it is processing the order for a DefenseTech laser system from the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF).

In the current trading session, Talkspace Inc (TALK) jumped 16.71% to $2.23 over a previous close of $1.91 after announcing a partnership with Amazon Health Services to increase awareness and discoverability of its mental health care services on Amazon.com.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Salesforce Inc (CRM) 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 $0.4 per share. It has fixed September 18 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on October 08. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.80 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, CRM has a trailing yield of 0.31% on the current stock price of $257.98.

Shares of VICI Properties Inc (VICI) will be the talk of stock market on Wednesday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.43 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $1.66 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that VICI has a trailing yield of 4.91% on the current share price of $33.83.

WhiteHorse Finance Inc (WHF) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from WHF will amount to $0.39 per share. September 18 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for October 02. In the previous year, WHF distributed a total of $1.52 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for WHF stands at 12.43% based on the current stock price of $12.27.

Broadcom Inc (AVGO) will be paying out a dividend of $0.53 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, AVGO has paid out a total of $2.04 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, AVGO boasts an impressive trailing yield of 1.25% on the current share price of $162.88.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Chris Larsen has spearheaded a $10 million seed funding round for Yellow Network, a new decentralized clearing network targeting cryptocurrency inefficiencies.

• Binance has rejected responsibility for the WazirX hack amid confusion over its connection to the Indian exchange.

• ENS Labs’ collaboration with PayPal and Venmo is expected to accelerate crypto payment adoption and advance towards the milestone of one billion crypto holders.

• The TON Foundation has formed a partnership with Curve Finance, enhancing the development and utility of The Open Network (TON) blockchain.

• Digital Chamber is urging U.S. crypto users to support a bill that categorizes non-fungible tokens (NFTs) based on their specific use cases.

Most Shorted Stocks

Spirit Airlines Inc (SAVE) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 29.32% 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 6.7. This represents a change of -3000000 shares, which corresponds to a -8.64% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $82.47 million. The average daily volume stands at 4.59M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $285.01M.

The Lucid Group Inc with the symbol LCID currently has a short interest of 29.02%. The short interest has changed by -650000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 7.1. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $975.88 million. On an average day, 36.40M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $9.03B.

For the stock Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc (FFIE), the current short interest is at 30.40%. This represents a significant short interest change of 2360000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +168.57%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 0.5. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $13.72 million.

With the symbol KRUS, the stock currently has a short interest of 32.13%. The short interest change is 210000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +12.00%. It would take approximately 8.5 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $307.79 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 235.02K shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $920.16M.

The stock ENVX has a current short interest of 33.86%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +5.01% while there was a change of 2360000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 8.0. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $18.64 million. Trading activity averages at 6.17M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $1.68B.

EV Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Cirrus Logic, Inc. (CRUS) emerges as a high-quality stock in the EV industry, attaining an impressive score of 59. The stock's profitability, performance, financial strength, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score are strong. However, its growth are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Hyliion Holdings Corporation (HYLN) as a high-quality EV stock today, presenting a Score of 56. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of performance, and financial strength. However, it has weak profitability, and forecast. The growth, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (SWKS) has the ST Score of 53, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score but weak in growth. Performance, stock sentiment, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

BorgWarner Inc (BWA) stock has the ST Score of 52 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 are in its growth, and financial strength. However, it shows neutral outlook in stock sentiment, and forecast.

Aptiv PLC (APTV) currently has the ST Score of 50, which signifies a huge upward potential. The EV stock's strong points are its profitability, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its financial strength. The stock's performance, growth, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.

Best Regards,
Stocks Telegraph Team