Midday Movers: AI Stars & $10 Stocks Rising Up

Stocks climbed on Wednesday after President Donald Trump confirmed a trade agreement between the U.S. and Japan, reigniting investor optimism for further international deals. The renewed optimism has stirred “animal spirits” on Wall Street, sending shares of smaller companies with recognizable brands soaring. Kohl’s rallied on Tuesday, while GoPro and Krispy Kreme posted strong gains midweek.

Attention now turns to earnings season, with Alphabet and Tesla set to report after Wednesday’s close—marking the first major tech results of the quarter. These updates are highly anticipated given big tech’s outsized influence on market trends.

Investors are also eyeing results from Chipotle Mexican Grill and Mattel, both expected after the bell. With over 100 S&P 500 companies already reporting, more than 86% have exceeded Wall Street estimates, according to FactSet—setting a strong tone for this earnings-heavy week.

As of 11:20 AM ET, the Dow was up 220.1 points, or 0.4946%, at $44722.55. The Nasdaq Composite lost -14.73 points, or -0.06%, at $23048.84. The S&P 500 rose 18.03 points, or 0.29%, to $6327.65. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 8 showed negative movement, with Health Care leading the way with a -0.76% decrease.

Top Movers: Under $10 

Anebulo Pharmaceuticals Inc (ANEB) is up 74.86 today to trade at the current level of $3.2. This comes after the company approved a plan to terminate registration of its common stock.

Clearside Biomedical Inc (CLSD) zoomed 60.95% in today’s trade to $0.57 after announcing approval of XIPERE Suprachoroidal treatment for Uveitic Macular Edema in Canada.

In current trading, Alpha Modus Holdings Inc (AMOD) stock is at $1.8 after reporting that it has secured an exclusive U.S. license to operate and profit from all CashX kiosks and apps, replacing previous agreements.

Sadot Group Inc (SDOT) rose 21.17% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $2.17. The company has joined a major nature-based carbon project in Indonesia, advancing its goal to cut emissions in commodity supply chains with scalable, eco-friendly solutions.

In the current trading session, Humacyte Inc (HUMA) jumped 19.78% to $2.76 over a previous close of $2.3 after announcing the first sale of Symvess to a U.S. Military Treatment Facility.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

Union Bankshares, Inc (UNB) is about to trade ex-dividend Friday, meaning that investors who buy the stock after Friday will not be eligible for the next dividend payment. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.36 per share. It has fixed July 26 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on August 07. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.44 to its shareholders. Based on last year's worth of payments, UNB has a trailing yield of 5.20% on the current stock price of $27.7.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends Monday is FVCBankcorp Inc (FVCB), having a market capitalization of $248.82M. It will pay a dividend of $0.06 per share, the payment date of which is August 18.

Shares of Oak Valley Bancorp (OVLY) will be the talk of the stock market on Monday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.3 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.53 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that OVLY has a trailing yield of 1.87% on the current share price of $28.14.

South Plains Financial Inc (SPFI) is also set to go ex-dividend Monday. The next dividend payment from SPFI will amount to $0.16 per share. July 28 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for August 11. In the previous year, SPFI distributed a total of $0.59 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for SPFI stands at 1.44% based on the current stock price of $41.1.

Value Line, Inc (VALU) will be paying out a dividend of $0.33 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of July 28. Over the past 12 months, VALU has paid out a total of $1.23 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, VALU boasts an impressive trailing yield of 3.14% on the current share price of $39.05.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Mara Holdings plans to offer up to $1 billion in convertible senior notes, with part of the proceeds intended for Bitcoin purchases.

• Goldman Sachs and BNY Mellon are preparing to offer institutional access to tokenized money market funds, aiming for real-time settlement and 24/7 market access.

• CoinShares has secured a MiCA license under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, enhancing its regulatory compliance.

• South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) urged local asset managers to limit exposure to crypto firms due to potential risks.

• The U.S. government seeks to seize $7.1 million in crypto tied to a fraudulent oil and gas investment scheme, originally confiscated by Homeland Security in December.

Most Shorted Stocks

Luminar Technologies Inc (LAZR) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 22.08% 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 4.0. This represents a change of -370000 shares, which corresponds to a -3.70% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $34.76 million. The average daily volume stands at 2.76M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $178.65M.

The Northern Oil and Gas Inc with the symbol NOG currently has a short interest of 19.93%. The short interest has changed by 420000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 9.9. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $524.49 million. On an average day, 1.84M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $2.71B.

For the stock Nuvation Bio Inc (NUVB), the current short interest is at 29.08%. This represents a significant short interest change of 9670000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +17.24%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 11.5. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $161.09 million.

With the symbol AAP, the stock currently has a short interest of 19.55%. The short interest change is 1450000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +14.38%. It would take approximately 3.7 days to cover all the short positions. The shares' short value is estimated to be around $4.46 billion. The company boasts an average daily volume of 3.14M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $4.07B.

The stock REAL has a current short interest of 23.88%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of +1.36% while there was a change of 290000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 6.6. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $73.45 million. Trading activity averages at 3.25M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $720.08M.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Twilio Inc (TWLO) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 56. The stock's profitability, performance, and financial strength are strong. However, its growth is weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Digital Realty Trust Inc (DLR) 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, Sprinklr Inc (CXM) 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 growth. Financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Vertiv Holdings Co (VRT) stock has the ST Score of 53 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, and financial strength. However, it shows neutral outlook in stock sentiment and forecast.

Audiocodes (AUDC) currently has the ST Score of 54, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its growth. The stock's performance, financial strength, 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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