Midday Momentum: Energy Stock Leaders & $10 Opportunities to Watch

Stocks slid on Friday, led by declines in technology names, erasing much of the gains from this holiday-shortened week.

As of 11:47 AM ET, the Dow was down -393.21 points, or -0.9076%, at $42932.6. The Nasdaq Composite lost -339.12 points, or -1.56%, at $21429.1903. The S&P 500 declined -79.88 points, or -1.323%, at $5957.7. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 8 showed negative movement, with Consumer Cyclical leading the way with a -1.5% decrease.

Looking at December, the Nasdaq remains on pace for a 2% gain, driven by strong performances from Tesla, Alphabet, and Apple, which continues its rally toward a $4 trillion market cap. However, the broader market has struggled. The S&P 500 is down 1.3% for the month, while the Dow is on track for a 4.5% decline, its worst monthly performance since April.

Top Movers: Under $10

Graphjet Technology (GTI) is up 138.14% today to trade at the current level of $0.81. The company hosted Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Plantation and Commodities, YB Datuk Chan Foong Hin, at its recently commissioned green graphite facility located in the Subang District in Malaysia.

Wimi Hologram Cloud Inc ADR (WIMI) zoomed 56.60% in today’s trade to $2.02 after the firm has announced the development of a Quantum Technology-Based Random Access Memory Architecture, known as QRAM.

In current trading, My Size Inc (MYSZ) stock is at $6.33 following the company's announcement of strong year-over-year growth, projecting $15 million in revenue for 2025 and anticipating a nearly 100% increase in 2024 compared to 2022.

Rail Vision Ltd (RVSN) rose 34.26% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $1.04 after receivng Israel Railways regulation approval for its MainLine Products.

In the current trading session, Vor Biopharma Inc (VOR) jumped 27.78% to $1.07 over a previous close of $0.84 after announcing $55.6 million private placement.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Great Southern Bancorp, Inc (GSBC) is about to trade ex-dividend Monday, meaning that investors who buy the stock after Monday will not be eligible for the next dividend payment. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.4 per share. It has fixed December 30 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on January 14. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.60 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, GSBC has a trailing yield of 2.66% on the current stock price of $60.16.

Shares of Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc (IVR) will be the talk of stock market on Monday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.4 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $1.60 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that IVR has a trailing yield of 19.32% on the current share price of $8.28.

Limoneira Co (LMNR) is also set to go ex-dividend on Monday. The next dividend payment from LMNR will amount to $0.07 per share. December 30 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for January 15. In the previous year, LMNR distributed a total of $0.30 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for LMNR stands at 1.30% based on the current stock price of $23.14.

Micron Technology Inc (MU) will be paying out a dividend of $0.12 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of December 30. Over the past 12 months, MU has paid out a total of $0.46 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, MU boasts an impressive trailing yield of 0.52% on the current share price of $88.70.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Kyrgyzstan’s economy experienced a significant decline in cryptocurrency mining taxes, despite the soaring crypto valuations in 2024.

• The European Union's cryptocurrency regulations are set to fully take effect in a few days, but significant uncertainty remains regarding Tether’s USDt stablecoin.

• Bitwise, an ETF issuer, proposed a new fund focused on investing in publicly traded companies with substantial Bitcoin holdings.

• Former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame’s prison sentence was reduced by one year, with his new release date set for March 2031, according to U.S. Bureau of Prison records.

• Strive, an asset manager founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, sought U.S. regulators' approval for an ETF investing in convertible bonds from MicroStrategy and other corporate Bitcoin buyers.

Most Shorted Stocks

Kohl's Corp (KSS) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 46.31% 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 5.8. This represents a change of 9190000 shares, which corresponds to a +22.12% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $736.24 million. The average daily volume stands at 8.85M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $1.61B.

The Jeffs Brands Ltd with the symbol JFBR currently has a short interest of 46.04%. The short interest has changed by 46700 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 0.3. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $0.55 million. On an average day, 810.65K shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $1.76M.

For the stock Medical Properties Trust Inc (MPW), the current short interest is at 45.60%. This represents a significant short interest change of 5780000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +2.51%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 20.9. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $889.83 million.

With the symbol BYND, the stock currently has a short interest of 45.53%. The short interest change is -560000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -1.99%. It would take approximately 9.1 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $941.76 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 3.05M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $260.49M.

The stock SAVA has a current short interest of 36.62%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +2.68% while there was a change of 460000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 3.4. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $69.25 million. Trading activity averages at 5.26M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $120.58M.

Energy Stocks to Watch

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

Our ST Score also classifies Transportadora de Gas del Sur ADR (TGS) as a high-quality Energy stock today, presenting a Score of 59. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. The growth, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Mexco Energy Corp (MXC) has the ST Score of 56, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. Performance, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Texas Pacific Land Corporation (TPL) stock has the ST Score of 56 which implies that the Energy company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its performance. However, it shows neutral outlook in growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

North American Construction Group Ltd (NOA) currently has the ST Score of 54, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Energy stock's strong points are its performance, growth, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its financial strength. The stock's profitability, 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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