Midday Watchlist: Rising Clean Energy Stocks & $10 Contenders

The S&P 500 edged higher on Friday following a stronger-than-expected jobs report that left investors questioning the future path of interest rates. Stocks initially rallied as data showed nonfarm payrolls surged by 254,000 in September, far exceeding the forecast of 150,000. The unemployment rate also dipped to 4.1%, defying expectations for it to remain at 4.2%.

As of, 12:10 PM ET, the Dow was up 94.86 points, or 0.23%, at $42106.46. The Nasdaq Composite added 118.81 points, or 0.6%, at $19912.154. The S&P 500 rose 18.08 points, or 0.3172%, at $5718.03. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 8 showed negative movement, with Real Estate leading the way with a 0.93% decrease.

However, the rally lost momentum as investors reconsidered the likelihood of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by half a point in November. Rising bond yields further capped the market's upside, with the 10-year yield approaching new highs.

Despite Friday’s gains, the market couldn’t erase losses from earlier in the week. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East contributed to a shaky start to October, marking a sharp shift after a strong first nine months of the year.

Crude oil prices continued their rise on Friday, bringing weekly gains close to 9%, fueled by the intensifying conflict in the Middle East, including Iran's missile attack on Israel. Energy stocks surged alongside oil prices, with the S&P 500 energy sector up 6.8% for the week, on pace for its biggest weekly gain in nearly two years.

Top Movers: Under $10

Phoenix Motor Inc (PEV) is up 192.09% today to trade at the current level of $1.01. This comes after the company reported record $9.4 million revenue and $14.8 million net income for first quarter of 2024.

Beneficient (BENF) zoomed 47.90% in today’s trade to $1.76 after announcing that its subsidiary Beneficient Company Holdings, L.P. consummated a previously announced transaction pursuant to which approximately $126 million of its preferred equity was redesignated as non-redeemable.

In current trading, Cue Biopharma Inc (CUE) stock is at $0.98 following the declaration of upcoming scientific presentations at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer’s (SITC) 39th Annual Meeting.

Sobr Safe Inc (SOBR) rose 17.73% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $5.18. The company recently provided an update on the opportunity for international expansion across three foundational markets. In each case below, SOBRsafe was approached by the interested party to engage our technologies.

In the current trading session, Jetblue Airways Corp (JBLU) jumped 16.67% to $7.45 over a previous close of $6.39 on a report that rival Spirit Airlines is holding discussions about a possible bankruptcy.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) 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 $0.12 per share. It has fixed October 07 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on October 23. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.46 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, MU has a trailing yield of 0.45% on the current stock price of $102.63.

Shares of Riverview Bancorp, Inc. (RVSB) will be the talk of stock market on Monday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.02 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.20 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that RVSB has a trailing yield of 4.30% on the current share price of $4.66.

Shoe Carnival, Inc. (SCVL) is also set to go ex-dividend on Monday. The next dividend payment from SCVL will amount to $0.14 per share. October 07 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for October 21. In the previous year, SCVL distributed a total of $0.39 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for SCVL stands at 0.93% based on the current stock price of $41.74.

Edison International (EIX) will be paying out a dividend of $0.78 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of October 07. Over the past 12 months, EIX has paid out a total of $3.08 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, EIX boasts an impressive trailing yield of 3.58% on the current share price of $86.03.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Tether maintains a strong relationship with the U.S. government, bolstered by its significant holdings of U.S. debt to support its dollar-pegged stablecoin.

• The European Union's MiCA regulations are tightening oversight on crypto firms, prompting Coinbase to update its offerings.

• Vietnamese authorities have arrested five individuals linked to a sophisticated crypto scam network operated by offshore actors.

• Brazil is integrating decentralized finance principles into the development of its "synthetic" CBDC, previously known as the Brazilian digital real, now named Drex. 

• Bitcoin mining firm TeraWulf sold its 200 MW stake in a mining facility to partner Talen Energy for $92 million, planning to use the funds for AI and Bitcoin mining initiatives.

Most Shorted Stocks

NuScale Power Corporation (SMR) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 25.05% 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 3.6 . This represents a change of 260000 shares, which corresponds to a +1.32% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $260.8 million. The average daily volume stands at 5.67M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $1.24B.

The Recursion Pharmaceuticals Inc with the symbol RXRX currently has a short interest of 26.54%. The short interest has changed by 3130000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 10.2 . The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $363.24 million. On an average day, 5.09M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $1.77B.

For the stock Biomea Fusion Inc (BMEA), the current short interest is at 27.03%. This represents a significant short interest change of -110000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -1.43%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 10.7 . The approximate worth of the shares held short is $78.4 million.

With the symbol CORT, the stock currently has a short interest of 24.14%. The short interest change is -380000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -1.72%. It would take approximately 25.4 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $340.49 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 853.48K shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $4.69B.

The stock IMNM has a current short interest of 25.38%. The short interest percentage has experienced decrease of -6.40% while there was a change of -850000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 16.2 . The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $295.26 million. Trading activity averages at 642.03K shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $816.96M.

Energy Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Imperial Oil Ltd. (IMO) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Energy industry, attaining an impressive score of 63. The stock's profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Cactus Inc (WHD) as a high-quality Energy stock today, presenting a Score of 60. 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, Epsilon Energy Ltd (EPSN) has the ST Score of 59, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score but weak in growth. Profitability, stock sentiment, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Geospace Technologies Corp (GEOS) stock has the ST Score of 59 which implies that the Energy company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. However, it shows neutral outlook in performance, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

PrimeEnergy Resources Corp (PNRG) currently has the ST Score of 59, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Energy stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score. The stock's growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast indicate a neutral outlook.

Best Regards,
Stocks Telegraph Team