Midday Report: Top Energy Stocks & $10 High-Growth Picks

Stocks climbed on Friday to kick off November on a positive note, with Amazon leading gains in big tech as traders shrugged off a weaker-than-expected jobs report.

As of 11:41 AM ET, the Dow was up 559.38 points, or 1.34%, at $42322.85. The Nasdaq Composite added 246.95 points, or 1.2416%, at $20137.365. The S&P 500 rose 59.9 points, or 1.05%, at $5765.34. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 10 showed positive movement, with Consumer Cyclical leading the way with a 1.28% increase.

Looking ahead, investors are bracing for the U.S. Presidential election on November 5, which has added to market volatility, as well as the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting on November 6 and 7.

The major averages are set to close out a volatile week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq, weighed down by post-earnings declines in Microsoft and Meta Platforms, are down 0.8% and 1.1% for the week, respectively, while the Dow is up a modest 0.2%.

This strong start to November follows a challenging October. Last month, the Dow pulled back 1.3%, the S&P 500 dropped 1%, and the Nasdaq slipped 0.5%, reflecting a period of market turbulence.

Top Movers: Under $10

Chromadex Corp (CDXC) is up 46.70% today to trade at the current level of $5.12. This comes after the company reported third quarter 2024 financial results.

Globalstar Inc (GSAT) zoomed 35.19% in today’s trade to $1.42 after the company disclosed an expanded agreement with Apple.

In current trading, Theriva Biologics Inc (TOVX) stock is at $1.93 after announcing selection as one of five finalists for Merck KGaA's EMEA Advance Biotech Grant.

ASP Isotopes Inc (ASPI) rose 22.32% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $8.55 after announcing pricing of public offering of common stock.

In the current trading session, Nexalin Technology Inc (NXL) jumped 18.67% to $2.95 over a previous close of $2.49. The company announced that it received notice from The Nasdaq Stock Market, notifying the Company that it has regained compliance with Nasdaq’s minimum bid price requirement under Nasdaq Rule 5550(a)(2).

Ex-Dividends Stocks

KKR & Co. Inc (KKR) 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 $0.17 per share. It has fixed November 04 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on November 19. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.68 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, KKR has a trailing yield of 0.49% on the current stock price of $139.99.

Shares of Synchrony Financial (SYF) will be the talk of stock market on Monday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.25 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $1.00 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that SYF has a trailing yield of 1.80% on the current share price of $55.64.

Citigroup Inc (C) is also set to go ex-dividend on Monday. The next dividend payment from C will amount to $0.56 per share. November 04 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for November 22. In the previous year, C distributed a total of $2.15 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for C stands at 3.33% based on the current stock price of $64.59.

HBT Financial Inc (HBT) will be paying out a dividend of $0.19 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of November 04. Over the past 12 months, HBT has paid out a total of $0.74 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, HBT boasts an impressive trailing yield of 3.48% on the current share price of $21.27.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Adam Back reports strong institutional adoption of Bitcoin, enhancing its resilience as the leading cryptocurrency.

• The Solana layer-2 blockchain, Sonic, has reached a key staking milestone and is partnering to advance the restaking industry. 

• Tether is set to launch a UAE dirham-pegged stablecoin on The Open Network (TON) blockchain.

• The TON Foundation introduces Society DAO, a new governance framework aimed at enhancing decentralization on the TON platform.

• A survey by Paribu shows that some Turkish investors now favor cryptocurrencies over traditional assets like real estate and stocks.

Most Shorted Stocks

Petco Health and Wellness Co Inc (WOOF) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 29.07% 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 1430000 shares, which corresponds to a +6.74% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $98.12 million. The average daily volume stands at 3.96M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $1.19B.

The TeraWulf Inc with the symbol WULF currently has a short interest of 17.38%. The short interest has changed by 5090000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 2.4. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $315.77 million. On an average day, 22.33M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $2.53B.

For the stock Sunnova Energy International Inc (NOVA), the current short interest is at 30.07%. This represents a significant short interest change of -5060000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -13.43%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 5.3. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $195.07 million.

With the symbol BMEA, the stock currently has a short interest of 29.18%. The short interest change is 260000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +3.28%. It would take approximately 10.1 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $299.45 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 860.27K shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $332.67M.

The stock ALT has a current short interest of 31.28%. The short interest percentage has experienced decrease of -0.76% while there was a change of -170000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 10.1. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $56.18 million. Trading activity averages at 2.19M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $487.90M.

Energy Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, NCS Multistage Holdings Inc (NCSM) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Energy industry, attaining an impressive score of 65. The stock's profitability, performance, growth, financial strength, and Piotroski Score are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Texas Pacific Land Corporation (TPL) as a high-quality Energy stock today, presenting a Score of 64. 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, Dorian LPG Ltd (LPG) has the ST Score of 63, 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 performance. Growth, stock sentiment, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

PHX Minerals Inc (PHX) stock has the ST Score of 63 which implies that the Energy company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its growth. However, it shows neutral outlook in stock sentiment, and forecast.

Scorpio Tankers Inc (STNG) currently has the ST Score of 63, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Energy stock's strong points are its profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its performance. The stock's growth, stock sentiment, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.