Midday Watchlist: Upcoming IPOs & $10 Market Leaders

Stocks traded near flat on Monday, closing out what is shaping up to be a winning month and quarter. This follows three consecutive weeks of gains for the major averages. Despite a rocky start to what is historically the weakest month for stocks, markets bounced back after the Federal Reserve made a significant move, cutting interest rates by half a percentage point.

As of, 11:42 AM ET, the Dow was down -154.1719 points, or -0.3644%, at $42158.83. The Nasdaq Composite lost -50.6016 points, or -0.2529%, at $19958.023. The S&P 500 declined -8.2197 points, or -0.1432%, at $5729.95. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 9 showed positive movement, with Energy leading the way with a 0.78% increase.

As October approaches, investors are mindful of its reputation for market volatility. Historically, October has seen some of the most dramatic downturns on Wall Street. However, optimism is building as we head into the year's final stretch.

Meanwhile, U.S.-listed Chinese stocks surged as China’s market saw its best performance in 16 years. The China ADR Index, which tracks these shares, jumped 4% during midday trading on Monday.

Top Movers: Under $10

Emcore Corp. (EMKR) is up 69.42% today to trade at the current level of $2.05 following Mobix Labs' announcement of an all-cash offer to acquire the company.

TTEC Holdings Inc (TTEC) zoomed 32.84% in today’s trade to $5.38 after receiving unsolicited proposal from CEO to be taken private.

In current trading, Kezar Life Sciences Inc (KZR) stock is at $0.69 after announcing the voluntary cessation in enrollment of new patients and dosing of ongoing patients in the Phase 2b PALIZADE clinical trial, pending further evaluation.

36Kr Holdings Inc ADR (KRKR) rose 20.55% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $0.29 following the launch of 36Kr European Central Station.

In the current trading session, Prime Medicine Inc (PRME) jumped 22.54% to $4.24 over a previous close of $3.46. The company announced a strategic research collaboration and license agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb & Co (BMY) to develop reagents for the next generation of ex vivo T-cell therapies.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (APD) 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 $1.77 per share. It has fixed October 01 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on November 12. Last year, the company distributed a total of $7.04 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, APD has a trailing yield of 2.35% on the current stock price of $299.65.

Shares of Realty Income Corp. (O) will be the talk of stock market on Tuesday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.26 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $2.85 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that O has a trailing yield of 4.52% on the current share price of $63.01.

State Street Corp. (STT) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from STT will amount to $0.76 per share. October 01 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for October 11. In the previous year, STT distributed a total of $2.76 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for STT stands at 3.12% based on the current stock price of $88.38.

Two Harbors Investment Corp (TWO) 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 October 01. Over the past 12 months, TWO has paid out a total of $1.80 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, TWO boasts an impressive trailing yield of 13.00% on the current share price of $13.85.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Bitcoin's price is expected to rise due to the upcoming U.S. presidential election, regardless of the outcome, says ZX Squared Capital's investment chief.

• NFT sales continued to decline in September, with total sales dropping 20% to $296 million from August's $373 million, according to CryptoSlam.

• Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission has approved professional investors to engage with foreign virtual asset ETFs to enhance investment options and market competitiveness.

• Decentralized finance protocol Onyx, which lost $3.8 million in a recent hack, has received community approval to relaunch its Onyx Core network to strengthen governance.

• FTX Token surged over 70% to reach $2.70 on Sept. 29, amid impending bankruptcy distributions for the bankrupt exchange.

Most Shorted Stocks

CompoSecure Inc (CMPO) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 13.40% 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 660000 shares, which corresponds to a +6.51% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $151.63 million. The average daily volume stands at 897.87K shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $1.16B.

The Advantage Solutions Inc. with the symbol ADV currently has a short interest of 42.81%. The short interest has changed by 20000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 10.1. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $30.45 million. On an average day, 813.27K shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $1.09B.

For the stock Phathom Pharmaceuticals Inc (PHAT), the current short interest is at 26.04%. This represents a significant short interest change of 180000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +1.17%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 17.4. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $277.65 million.

With the symbol SYM, the stock currently has a short interest of 39.81%. The short interest change is -300000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -1.88%. It would take approximately 7.7 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $391.1 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 2.03M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $13.41B.

The stock MNPR has a current short interest of 36.86%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +603.13% while there was a change of 559700 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 0.9. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $101.58 million. Trading activity averages at 795.33K shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $22.77M.

Upcoming IPO’s

FBS Global Limited (FBGL) will be entering the market with its IPO on October 01, on the NASDAQ exchange. They are offering shares in the price range of $4.50 to $5.00. They plan to offer 2,250,000 shares, targeting a deal size of $10.69M.

StandardAero, Inc. (SARO) is also scheduled to make its debut on the NYSE exchange on October 02. They are offering shares in the price range of $20.00 to $23.00. The IPO includes 60,000,000 shares, aiming for a deal size of $1.29B.

FrontView REIT, Inc. (FVR) is set to join the NYSE on October 02. They are offering shares in the price range of $17.00 to $21.00. They are offering 13,200,000 shares, with an estimated deal size of $250.80M.

Xuhang Holdings Limited (SUNH) is all set for its debut on the NASDAQ exchange on October 2. They are offering shares in the price range of $4.00 to $5.00. With a total of 2,000,000 shares available, the company aims to raise approximately $9.00M through this IPO.

BingEx Limited (FLX) is preparing for its initial public offering on the NASDAQ exchange on October 04. The company plans to offer shares priced between $15.00 and $17.00. With 4,000,000 shares available, GreenTech aims to raise approximately $64.00M through this IPO.

Best Regards,
Stocks Telegraph Team