Midday Surge: Top AI Picks & $10 Movers of the Day

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 slipped on Monday as the market kicked off a holiday-shortened week on a cautious note. With the New York Stock Exchange closing early Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET for Christmas Eve and markets shut on Christmas Day, trading activity is expected to remain subdued.

As of 11:43 AM ET, the Dow was down -130.61 points, or -0.3%, at $42709.66. The Nasdaq Composite added 85.23 points, or 0.4003%, at $21374.3881. The S&P 500 rose 11.3701 points, or 0.1917%, at $5942.22. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 9 showed negative movement, with Consumer Defensive leading the way with a -1.5% decrease.

Over the weekend, investors found some relief as President Joe Biden signed a funding bill, averting a government shutdown and ensuring federal agencies remain operational into the new year. The bill funds operations at current levels for the next three months.

Optimism remains for a potential "Santa Claus rally," which could help close 2024 on a high note. Historically, the S&P 500 has gained an average of 1.3% during the last five trading days of the year and the first two of January, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac. December also tends to be a strong month for U.S. equities, with an 83% success rate in presidential election years, according to Bank of America.

Top Movers: Under $10

Reliance Global Group Inc (RELI) is up 234.12% today to trade at the current level of $4.01. This comes after the company provided a year-end review of its operations, as well as a look to the future.

RAPT Therapeutics Inc (RAPT) zoomed 89.00% in today’s trade to $1.56 after announcing an exclusive license agreement with Shanghai Jemincare Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd for JYB1904, a clinical-stage, half-life extended anti-immunoglobulin E (IgE) monoclonal antibody.

In current trading, SEALSQ Corp (LAES) stock is at $3.95 after announcing that it is at the forefront of developing innovative solutions to address the challenges posed by quantum computing.

Glimpse Group Inc (VRAR) rose 18.91% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $4.15. The company announced that its subsidiary company Brightline Interactive, LLC successfully delivered a paid for advanced immersive simulation through its cutting-edge middleware platform - SpatialCore - to a large government services integrator.

In the current trading session, Cyngn Inc (CYN) jumped 34.17% to $0.63 over a previous close of $0.47 after announcing pricing of $20.0 million follow on offering priced at-the-market.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Portland General Electric Co (POR) 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 $0.5 per share. It has fixed December 24 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on January 15. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.95 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, POR has a trailing yield of 4.43% on the current stock price of $44.00.

Shares of Global Indemnity Group LLC (GBLI) will be the talk of stock market on Tuesday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.35 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $1.30 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that GBLI has a trailing yield of 3.61% on the current share price of $36.00.

ArrowMark Financial Corp (BANX) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from BANX will amount to $0.65 per share. December 26 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for January 03. In the previous year, BANX distributed a total of $1.80 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for BANX stands at 8.80% based on the current stock price of $20.45.

Balchem Corp (BCPC) will be paying out a dividend of $0.87 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of December 26. Over the past 12 months, BCPC has paid out a total of $0.79 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, BCPC boasts an impressive trailing yield of 0.48% on the current share price of $164.32.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Nasdaq-listed La Rosa Holdings to integrate Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment options for over 3,000 real estate agents in the U.S.

• MicroStrategy continues aggressive Bitcoin buying, adhering to its founder’s commitment to accumulate at peak prices. 

• Nokia files patent for a device, method, and computer program to encrypt digital assets.

• Two 23-year-olds from California arrested in Los Angeles for allegedly defrauding investors of over $22 million in crypto assets through NFT rug pulls.

• Japanese investment firm Metaplanet makes its largest-ever Bitcoin purchase, acquiring nearly 620 Bitcoin as prices dip below $100,000.

Most Shorted Stocks

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (CRSP) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 21.26% 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 12.7. This represents a change of -1240000 shares, which corresponds to a -6.40% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $729.09 million. The average daily volume stands at 1.56M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $3.46B.

The Plug Power Inc with the symbol PLUG currently has a short interest of 21.43%. The short interest has changed by -20900000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 3.5. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $482.37 million. On an average day, 55.30M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $2.51B.

For the stock Sunrun Inc (RUN), the current short interest is at 21.48%. This represents a significant short interest change of 1760000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +3.79%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 5.3. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $481.32 million.

With the symbol AEHR, the stock currently has a short interest of 21.53%. The short interest change is -140000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -2.15%. It would take approximately 5.5 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $690.9 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 1.32M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $454.59M.

The stock MVIS has a current short interest of 21.70%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +1.17% while there was a change of 550000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 22.0. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $7.08 million. Trading activity averages at 2.94M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $252.45M.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 55. The stock's profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Arista Networks Inc (ANET) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 58. 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, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ADR (TSM) has the ST Score of 51, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, growth, and Piotroski Score. Financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

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

NVIDIA Corp (NVDA) currently has the ST Score of 52, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, growth, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. 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

P.S. Want my daily watchlists sent to your cell phone too? Join our WhatsApp Exclusive Community for real-time alerts on hot stocks. Stay ahead with instant updates and exclusive insights!