Midday Review: Top Energy Plays & $10 Movers

Stocks appeared set to pause on Friday as concerns over triple witching tempered the recent market rally sparked by the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision.

At 11:47 AM ET, the Dow was down -49.0703 points, or -0.1168%, at $41976.12. The Nasdaq Composite lost -154.18 points, or -0.7771%, at $19685.6528. The S&P 500 declined -19.02 points, or -0.3329%, at $5694.62. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 9 showed negative movement, with Information Technology leading the way with a 0.57% decrease.

These moves may signal that traders want to lock in profits after the previous session's sharp rally. Despite this, optimism remains as interest rates continue to fall and the labor market stays resilient, fueling hopes of a soft landing, where the Fed manages to control inflation without causing a recession.

However, Friday also marks a triple witching day, where stock options, index futures, and index options all expire, which could add to market volatility. Yet, Wall Street’s fear gauge has been on the decline in recent weeks.

Bond yields remained steady, with the 10-year Treasury yield at 3.718% and the 2-year yield at 3.595%.

Top Movers: Under $10

Battalion Oil Corp (BATL) is up 121.08% today to trade at the current level of $6.50. This comes after Company announced that it has entered into an amendment to the previously disclosed Agreement and Plan of Merger with Fury Resources, Inc.

Banzai International Inc (BNZI) zoomed 122.40% in today’s trade to $6.41. This rally can be attributed to news that effective at 12:01 a.m., EDT, on September 19, 2024, the Company will effect a one-for-fifty (1 for 50) reverse stock split of its outstanding Class A common stock.

In current trading, Novabay Pharmaceuticals Inc (NBY) stock is at $0.69 following news that Acumen Health Holdings, subsidiary, PRN Physician Recommended Nutriceuticals, LLC, has entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement to acquire the assets of the Avenova® brand and business from NovaBay® Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Alliance Entertainment Holding Corporation (AENT) rose 23.04% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $2.51. The strong performance of AENT stock came as investors were encouraged by the news of its financial and operational results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended June 30, 2024.

In the current trading session, Tenon Medical Inc (TNON) jumped 20.28% to $6.05 over a previous close of $5.03 as announces issuance of three notices of allowance for patent applications from the USPTO

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Dynex Capital, Inc. (DX) is about to trade ex-dividend Monday, 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 $0.13 per share. The company has fixed September 23 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on October 01. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.35 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, DX has a trailing yield of 10.48% on the current stock price of $12.93.

Shares of W.R. Berkley Corp. (WRB) will be the talk of stock market on Monday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.33 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of $0.30 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that WRB has a trailing yield of 0.52% on the current share price of $57.41.

Tomorrow, FS Credit Opportunities Corp (FSCO) is also set to go ex-dividend on Monday. The next dividend payment from FSCO will amount to $0.06 per share. September 23 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for September 30. In the previous year, FSCO distributed a total of $0.70 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for FSCO stands at 11.03% based on the current stock price of $6.37.

New Jersey Resources Corporation (NJR) will be paying out a dividend of $0.45 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of September 23. Over the past 12 months, NJR has paid out a total of $1.68 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, NJR boasts an impressive trailing yield of 3.54% on the current share price of $47.39.

Crypto Market Highlights

• The Hashgraph Association (THA) will collaborate with stakeholders in Qatar to explore five digital asset use cases over the next year.

• MicroStrategy has raised approximately $1.01 billion through convertible senior notes, planning to allocate part of the funds for Bitcoin acquisitions.

• Aethir has partnered with the Filecoin Foundation to tackle GPU scarcity in decentralized cloud computing.

• PancakeSwap has achieved $836 billion in cumulative trading volume and a total value locked (TVL) of around $1.72 billion in four years.

• Deus X Capital has launched Solstice Labs to provide institutional-grade decentralized finance (DeFi) investment products, following the debut of Cor Prime, a prime broker for the digital asset market.

Most Shorted Stocks

Medical Properties Trust Inc (MPW) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 39.45% 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 19.5 Days to Cover. This represents a change of 980000 shares, which corresponds to a +0.42% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $1.4 billion. The average daily volume stands at 13.44M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $3.56B.

The Cassava Sciences Inc with the symbol SAVA currently has a short interest of 32.95%. The short interest has changed by -1870000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 4.9 Days to Cover. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $472.4 million. On an average day, 3.41M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $1.43B.

For the stock Kohl's Corp. (KSS), the current short interest is at 37.02%. This represents a significant short interest change of 960000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +2.43%%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 6.5 Days to Cover. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $745.09 million.

With the symbol MNMD, the stock currently has a short interest of 36.34%. The short interest change is 130000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +1.33%%. It would take approximately 8.4 Days to Cover days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $244.32 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 1.16M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $170.09M.

The stock AMCX has a current short interest of 34.64%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +0.37%% while there was a change of 40000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 7.3 Days to Cover. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $86.91 million. Trading activity averages at 1.32M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $386.98M.

Energy Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Sensus Healthcare Inc (SRTS) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Energy industry, attaining an impressive score of 69. The stock's profitability, performance, growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Castle Biosciences Inc (CSTL) as a high-quality Energy stock today, presenting a Score of 68. 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, Kiora Pharmaceuticals Inc (KPRX) has the ST Score of 67, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, financial strength, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score but weak in growth. Forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Inc (CPRX) stock has the ST Score of 66 which implies that the Energy company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, performance, growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, and Piotroski Score. However, it shows neutral outlook in forecast.

Eliem Therapeutics Inc (ELYM) currently has the ST Score of 64, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Energy stock's strong points are its performance, and financial strength. The stock's profitability, growth, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.

Best Regards,
Stocks Telegraph Team