Midday Investment Insights: AI Power Stocks & $10 Opportunities

US stock markets rallied on Wednesday after November’s inflation report aligned with economists’ expectations, paving the way for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at its December meeting next week.

As of 11:35 AM ET, the Dow was up 15.94 points, or 0.04%, at $44263.78. The Nasdaq Composite added 326.16 points, or 1.53%, at $21694.3452. The S&P 500 rose 49.45 points, or 0.8194%, at $6084.35. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 6 showed positive movement, with Information Technology leading the way with a 5.63% increase.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.3% from October and 2.7% year-over-year, while core CPI—which excludes food and energy—also increased 0.3% for the month and 3.3% annually. While the data reflected a slightly quicker pace of inflation compared to the previous month, it wasn’t enough to deter expectations of a rate cut. Traders are pricing in a 96% probability of a quarter-point reduction, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool.

The market rebounded Wednesday following two consecutive losing sessions for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite, and four straight down days for the Dow. Year-to-date, the S&P 500 remains up over 27%, reflecting a strong performance heading into year-end.

Top Movers: Under $10

Amplitech Group Inc (AMPG) is up 104.56% today to trade at the current level of $2.03. This comes after the company announced the successful development and deployment of its proprietary low-noise cryogenic High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) amplifiers.

Asset Entities Inc (ASST) zoomed 17.07% in today’s trade to $0.66 after announcing that it has been approved as an official TikTok Shop Partner.

In current trading, NewGenIvf Group Ltd (NIVF) stock is at $0.45 after announcing that it has entered into a binding term sheet regarding the previously announced proposed reverse merger with healthcare company European Wellness Investment Holdings Limited.

Wimi Hologram Cloud Inc ADR (WIMI) rose 13.51% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $0.99 after announcing that it is exploring an innovative solution: a blockchain-based distributed collaborative computing architecture specifically designed for in-vehicle digital twin networks.

In the current trading session, Energy Vault Holdings Inc (NRGV) jumped 21.25% to $2.00 over a previous close of $1.65 after announcing a strategic partnership with RackScale Data Centers, an emerging data center developer.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

ADT Inc (ADT) 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 $0.06 per share. It has fixed December 12 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on January 09. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.20 to its shareholders. Based on last year's payments, ADT has a trailing yield of 2.71%, and the current stock price is $7.38.

Shares of Air Lease Corp (AL) will be the talk of the stock market on Thursday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.22 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.84 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that AL has a trailing yield of 1.68% on the current share price of $49.98.

Tomorrow, Belden Inc (BDC) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from BDC will amount to $0.05 per share. December 12 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for January 09. In the previous year, BDC distributed a total of $0.20 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for BDC stands at 0.17% based on the current stock price of $120.58.

Jack In The Box, Inc (JACK) will be paying out a dividend of $0.44 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of December 12. Over the past 12 months, JACK has paid out a total of $1.76 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, JACK boasts an impressive trailing yield of 3.61% on the current share price of $48.78.

Crypto Market Highlights

• MicroStrategy (MSTR) is set to join the Nasdaq 100 stock index on Dec. 23, with the announcement expected this week, making the software company one of the 100 largest stocks by market capitalization.

• CoinShares predicts an increase in Bitcoin-yielding solutions in 2025, highlighting political shifts in the U.S., as well as developments with Solana and XRP, in its latest crypto industry outlook. 

• Travala, a cryptocurrency-focused travel agency, plans to launch a dedicated Bitcoin and Ava reserve while celebrating over $100 million in gross annual revenue.

• Circle and Binance have formed a strategic partnership to enhance the financial services ecosystem and support the development of global digital assets, announced at Abu Dhabi Finance Week.

• Chainlink has integrated with Coinbase’s Project Diamond, enabling data and full lifecycle management for new tokenized assets on Coinbase’s institutional platform.

Most Shorted Stocks

B. Riley Financial Inc (RILY) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 66.17% 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 5.0. This represents a change of 920000 shares, which corresponds to a +9.82% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $51.86 million. The average daily volume stands at 1.80M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $152.57M.

The Childrens Place Inc with the symbol PLCE currently has a short interest of 61.12%. The short interest has changed by -100000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 1.2. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $39.98 million. On an average day, 2.43M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $173.76M.

For the stock Groupon Inc (GRPN), the current short interest is at 48.67%. This represents a significant short interest change of 1340000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +14.39%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 7.6. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $133.44 million.

With the symbol TRNR, the stock currently has a short interest of 12.24%. The short interest change is 68400 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +844.44%. It would take approximately 0.1 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $34.51 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 1.19M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $2.93M.

The stock BYND has a current short interest of 45.69%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of +7.23% while there was a change of 1880000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 11.6. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $0.3 million. Trading activity averages at 2.70M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $259.19M.

AI Stocks to Watch

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

Our ST Score also classifies Meta Platforms Inc (META) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 59. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score. The growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Salesforce Inc (CRM) 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.

Sap SE ADR (SAP) stock has the ST Score of 57 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 growth. However, it shows a neutral outlook in financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Vertiv Holdings Co (VRT) currently has the ST Score of 57, 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.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading. Good luck out there!

Best Regards,

Stocks Telegraph Team

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