Midday Update: Fast-Rising AI Stocks & $10 Investment Opportunities

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell again on Wednesday as rising tensions between the U.S. and key trade partners continued to unsettle investors.

As of, 11:20 AM ET, the Dow was down -319.96 points, or -0.77223%, at $41113.52. The Nasdaq Composite added 84.651 points, or 0.43686%, at $19461.61. The S&P 500 declined -5.73 points, or -0.10283%, at $5566.34. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 11 showed negative movement, with Communication Services leading the way with a -2.25% decrease.

Stocks have been under pressure as traders worry that these escalating tensions could trigger a U.S. recession. Concerns have also been raised that President Donald Trump’s volatile trade policies could lead to higher inflation and slower growth, a scenario known as stagflation.

The consumer price index (CPI), a broad measure of costs across the U.S. economy, increased 0.2% for the month, bringing the annual inflation rate to 2.8%. This was lower than the respective Dow Jones estimates of 0.3% and 2.9%. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, also rose 0.2% for the month and 3.1% for the past 12 months, both falling below expectations.

Top Movers: Under $10

OptimizeRx Corp (OPRX) is up 45.92% today to trade at the current level of $6.04. This comes after the company reported strong fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 financial results.

Vast Renewables Ltd (VSTE) zoomed 46.63% in today’s trade to $0.73 after announcing that it has secured up to AUD180 million of conditional funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency for construction of its Port Augusta utility-scale clean energy project, Vast Solar 1.

In current trading, E.W. Scripps Co (SSP) stock is at $1.96. The company delivered $728 million in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024, driven by record political advertising revenue. Income attributable to the shareholders of Scripps was $80.3 million or 92 cents per share.

Nuburu Inc (BURU) rose 26.53% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $0.22 after announcing the successful completion of the first key step in its strategic acquisition plan focused on the defense and security business sector.

In the current trading session, Visionary Holdings Inc (GV) jumped 21.42% to $6.01 over a previous close of $4.95 after announcing that it has reached an important agreement with PEGASUS International Group (Hong Kong).

Ex-Dividends Stocks

ADT Inc (ADT) 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 $0.06 per share. It has fixed March 13 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on April 03. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.22 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, ADT has a trailing yield of 2.97% on the current stock price of $7.41.

Shares of LKQ Corp (LKQ) 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 $0.3 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $1.20 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that LKQ has a trailing yield of 2.83% on the current share price of $42.34.

SBA Communications Corp (SBAC) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from SBAC will amount to $1.11 per share. March 13 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for March 27. In the previous year, SBAC distributed a total of $3.92 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for SBAC stands at 1.81% based on the current stock price of $216.35.

AMKOR Technology Inc (AMKR) will be paying out a dividend of $0.08 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of March 13. Over the past 12 months, AMKR has paid out a total of $0.32 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, AMKR boasts an impressive trailing yield of 1.62% on the current share price of $19.51.

Crypto Market Highlights

• A cryptocurrency "whale" lost over $308 million on a leveraged Ether position, highlighting the risks of leveraged trading in volatile markets.

• The Russian central bank is considering a three-year experimental regime to allow select investors to trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

• Gemini crypto exchange expands its institutional trading services in Europe, partnering with Bank Frick to support US dollar payments for clients in the UK and Switzerland.

• Watch Skins Corporation has filed a lawsuit against LVMH for patent infringement, claiming the luxury conglomerate misappropriated its NFT display technology.

• The US SEC has delayed decisions on approving XRP, Solana, Litecoin, and Dogecoin exchange-traded funds, extending the review period for proposed rule changes.

  Most Shorted Stocks

TransCode Therapeutics Inc (RNAZ) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 24.65% 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 0.1. This represents a change of -205400 shares, which corresponds to a -55.77% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $0.18 million. The average daily volume stands at 1.91M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $0.77M.

The Newton Golf Co with the symbol SPGC currently has a short interest of 112.97%. The short interest has changed by -720000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 0.2. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $0.21 million. On an average day, 17.44M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $0.98M.

For the stock NewGenIvf Group Ltd (NIVF), the current short interest is at 8.42%. This represents a significant short interest change of 100000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +588.24%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 0.1. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $0.13 million.

With the symbol ENVB, the stock currently has a short interest of 15.18%. The short interest change is 41500 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +17.80%. It would take approximately 0.1 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $0.19 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 2.92M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $3.18M.

The stock TRNR has a current short interest of 10.10%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of +4.00% while there was a change of 3500 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 0.0. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $0.43 million. Trading activity averages at 12.45M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $2.38M.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Zoom Communications Inc (ZM) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 59. 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 Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ADR (BABA) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 57. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak growth. The financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Twilio Inc (TWLO) has the ST Score of 57, 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 growth. Performance, stock sentiment, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Audiocodes (AUDC) stock has the ST Score of 55 which implies that the AI company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its growth. However, it shows a neutral outlook in performance, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Medtronic Plc (MDT) currently has the ST Score of 54, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI 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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