Midday Surge: Can’t-Miss EV Breakouts & Budget Movers

The S&P 500 held steady on Tuesday, barely budging after reaching another record high last week, as investors navigated a mix of corporate earnings and cautious trading sentiment.

As of 11:10 AM ET, the Dow was down -135.05 points, or -0.3012%, at $44702.52. The Nasdaq Composite added 44.37 points, or 0.19%, at $23400.64. The S&P 500 declined -0.42 points, or -0.01%, at $6389.35. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 6 showed positive movement, with Utilities leading the way with a 0.76% increase.

This week could prove decisive, with earnings season hitting full stride. Key “Magnificent Seven” members—Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon—are all scheduled to report between Wednesday and Thursday. So far, 170 S&P 500 companies have released quarterly results, with over 83% beating expectations, according to FactSet.

Attention is also turning to Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report, a major gauge of the labor market. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect the U.S. economy to have added 100,000 jobs in July, down from 147,000 in June. The unemployment rate is expected to edge higher to 4.2% from 4.1%.

Top Movers: Under $10 

Durect Corp (DRRX) is up 268.19% today to trade at the current level of $2.04. This comes after the company announced a definitive agreement with Bausch Health Companies Inc. under which Bausch Health will indirectly acquire DURECT Corporation.

ScanTech AI Systems Inc (STAI) zoomed 103.29% in today’s trade to $1.36 after announcing that it will offer its technologies through an The Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS) contract that it entered into with Creeksource Consulting LLC.

In current trading, Calidi Biotherapeutics Inc (CLDI) stock is at $0.68 after announcing that it received Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for CLD-201 (SuperNova), the company’s allogeneic adipose stem-cell loaded oncolytic virus for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma.

Scinai Immunotherapeutics Ltd ADR (SCNI) rose 23.66% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $2.54 after announcing the publication of a new peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Dermatological Treatment validating the disease-modifying potential of PC111, a first-in-class human anti-Fas Ligand monoclonal antibody.

In the current trading session, Atossa Therapeutics Inc (ATOS) jumped 15.41% to $0.94 over a previous close of $0.82 after receiving positive written feedback from the FDA on its planned dose optimization trial of (Z)-endoxifen for treating ER+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

Northern Technologies International Corp (NTIC) 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 $0.01 per share. It has fixed July 30 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on August 13. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.22 to its shareholders. Based on last year's worth of payments, NTIC has a trailing yield of 2.75% on the current stock price of $8.01.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends Thursday is AGNC Investment Corp (AGNC), having a market capitalization of $9.90B. It will pay a dividend of $0.12 per share, the payment date of which is August 11. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 14.84%.

Shares of Alliant Energy Corp (LNT) will be the talk of the stock market on Thursday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.51 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $1.97 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that LNT has a trailing yield of 3.07% on the current share price of $64.32.

Plains All American Pipeline LP (PAA) is also set to go ex-dividend Thursday. The next dividend payment from PAA will amount to $0.38 per share. July 31 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for August 14. In the previous year, PAA distributed a total of $1.40 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for PAA stands at 7.50% based on the current stock price of $18.62.

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) will be paying out a dividend of $1.36 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of July 31. Over the past 12 months, TXN has paid out a total of $5.38 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, TXN boasts an impressive trailing yield of 2.81% on the current share price of $191.57.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Pyth Network has started publishing real-time, onchain prices for 85 top Hong Kong-listed stocks, granting global access to key Asian equity market data.

• InternetX plans to tokenize its entire 22 million domain portfolio using D3’s Doma Protocol, bringing traditional domain assets onchain.

• Veda, a DeFi platform, has appointed a former SEC official as it expands crosschain yield products targeting institutional investors.

• The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has finalized its stablecoin regulatory framework, with two new guidelines set to take effect on August 1.

• Bitmain, the leading Bitcoin ASIC manufacturer, is reportedly close to opening its first US-based manufacturing plant.

Most Shorted Stocks

TripAdvisor Inc (TRIP) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 18.85% 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 5.7. This represents a change of 6350000 shares, which corresponds to a +44.04% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $373.86 million. The average daily volume stands at 3.82M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $2.36B.

The C3.ai Inc with the symbol AI currently has a short interest of 28.15%. The short interest has changed by 1120000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 4.4. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $634.28 million. On an average day, 6.45M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $3.39B.

For the stock Wayfair Inc (W), the current short interest is at 10.81%. This represents a significant short interest change of -11290000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -51.04%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 3.1. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $715.54 million.

With the symbol PTON, the stock currently has a short interest of 18.24%. The short interest change is 3550000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +5.33%. It would take approximately 5.1 days to cover all the short positions. The shares' short value is estimated to be around $68.23 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 13.47M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $2.51B.

The stock BTCT has a current short interest of 6.69%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of +10.89% while there was a change of 43100 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 1.4. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $198.58 million. Trading activity averages at 768.63K shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $26.93M.

EV Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Magna International Inc (MGA) emerges as a high-quality stock in the EV industry, attaining an impressive score of 50. The stock's profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score are strong. However, its growth and financial strength are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies QuantumScape Corp (QS) as a high-quality EV stock today, presenting a Score of 51. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak profitability and growth. The stock sentiment and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Ford Motor Co (F) has the ST Score of 51, 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.

BorgWarner Inc (BWA) stock has the ST Score of 51 which implies that the EV company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its performance and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its growth and financial strength. However, it shows neutral outlook in profitability, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Toyota Motor Corporation ADR (TM) 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, while its weak points are its growth, and financial strength. The stock's 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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