Midday Market Update: EV Stocks on the Move & $10 Breakouts

Stocks pulled back on Tuesday, taking a pause from the recent rally that pushed them to record highs, as traders analyzed the latest corporate earnings reports.

As of 11:40 AM ET, the Dow was down -133.8 points, or -0.3107%, at $42931.43. The Nasdaq Composite lost -203.05 points, or -0.99%, at $20235.9916. The S&P 500 declined -19.56 points, or -0.3338%, at $5840.3. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 6 showed positive movement, with Materials leading the way with a 0.83% increase.

So far, around 40 companies within the S&P 500 have posted third-quarter results, with an impressive 80% exceeding analyst expectations, according to FactSet data.

Despite today's pullback, a strong third-quarter earnings season and solid fundamentals may keep stocks at elevated levels as we approach the end of the year.

Top Movers: Under $10

NewGenIvf Group Ltd (NIVF) is up 49.77% today to trade at the current level of $1.13. This comes after the company received Nasdaq notification regarding minimum bid price.

Psyence Biomedical Ltd. (PBM) zoomed 11.04% in today’s trade to $0.11 after announcing equity swap agreement with Psyence Group Inc (PSYG).

In current trading, Immuneering Corp (IMRX) stock is at $2.21 after the FDA has granted orphan drug designation to IMM-1-104 for pancreatic cancer. It’s in a Phase 2a trial for advanced solid tumors, showing positive early results with modified gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel.

MeiraGTx Holdings plc (MGTX) rose 14.79% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $5.33 after announcing top-line data from its clinical bridging study of AAV-GAD for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, MGT-GAD-025.

In the current trading session, Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson ADR (ERIC) jumped 11.34% to $8.40 over a previous close of $7.54 after the company’s deal with AT&T Inc. helped push third-quarter earnings above analysts’ estimates.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Medalist Diversified REIT Inc (MDRR) 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 October 16 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on October 21. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.11 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, MDRR has a trailing yield of 0.90% on the current stock price of $12.25.

Shares of Watsco Inc. (WSO) will be the talk of stock market on Wednesday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $2.7 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $10.30 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that WSO has a trailing yield of 2.07% on the current share price of $497.76.

PennantPark Investment Corporation (PNNT) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from PNNT will amount to $0.08 per share. October 16 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for November 01. In the previous year, PNNT distributed a total of $0.88 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for PNNT stands at 12.49% based on the current stock price of $7.05.

Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. ADR (FMX) will be paying out a dividend of $0.86 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of October 16. Over the past 12 months, FMX has paid out a total of $2.28 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, FMX boasts an impressive trailing yield of 2.33% on the current share price of $98.07.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Binance highlights that Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) bill will significantly advance global stablecoin regulation, potentially legitimizing the crypto industry worldwide.

• Blockchain-based social media alternative Towns launched on Oct. 15, following a $25.5 million Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz in February 2023.

• Paxos is developing a new enterprise-grade infrastructure to enhance stablecoin adoption in payments, targeting payment service providers and fintech companies.

• PancakeSwap introduced a new product designed to enhance user execution prices, aiming to make cryptocurrency more accessible to mainstream users.

• Ripple has revealed its exchange partners for the upcoming launch of its dollar-denominated stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD).

Most Shorted Stocks

Kohl's Corp. (KSS) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 34.35% 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 5.6. This represents a change of -1630000 shares, which corresponds to a -4.16% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $756.06 million. The average daily volume stands at 6.70M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $2.24B.

The Wolfspeed Inc with the symbol WOLF currently has a short interest of 31.16%. The short interest has changed by 3850000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 4.8. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $552.63 million. On an average day, 8.53M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $1.80B.

For the stock Plug Power Inc (PLUG), the current short interest is at 34.08%. This represents a significant short interest change of -3980000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -1.55%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 6.4. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $533.89 million.

With the symbol OPK, the stock currently has a short interest of 30.18%. The short interest change is 140000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +0.14%. It would take approximately 29.2 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $371.95 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 3.35M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $1.03B.

The stock ZYXI has a current short interest of 30.82%. The short interest percentage has experienced decrease of -3.86% while there was a change of -210000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 37.1. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $792.86 million. Trading activity averages at 141.65K shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $255.96M.

EV Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Arista Networks Inc (ANET) emerges as a high-quality stock in the EV industry, attaining an impressive score of 66. 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 Meta Platforms Inc (META) as a high-quality EV stock today, presenting a Score of 59. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak growth. The stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

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

SentinelOne Inc (S) stock has the ST Score of 55 which implies that the EV company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its performance, growth, financial strength, and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its profitability. However, it shows neutral outlook in stock sentiment, and forecast.

Crowdstrike Holdings Inc (CRWD) currently has the ST Score of 54, which signifies a huge upward potential. The EV stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score. The stock's growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.

Best Regards,
Stocks Telegraph Team