Nasdaq Slips, Dow Pops... and Penny Stocks Go Parabolic 💥

U.S. stocks were mixed on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq down 0.2% and the S&P 500 slightly lower as tech stocks weakened, while the Dow rose 0.4%.

Markets are weighing signals on interest rates after Fed Governor Chris Waller said there is room for 50–100 basis points of cuts, ahead of November inflation data.

Tech shares fell after Oracle slid about 4% on concerns over its $10 billion AI data center project, shifting focus to Micron’s earnings for clues on AI chip demand, while Netflix shares edged higher on media deal developments.

Top Movers: Under $10 

Processa Pharmaceuticals Inc (PCSA) is up 128.95% today to trade at the current level of $6.88 after releasing a clinical update on its Phase 2 breast cancer study of NGC-Cap.

VYNE Therapeutics Inc (VYNE) zoomed 83.93% in today’s trade to $0.74 after announcing a definitive merger agreement with Yarrow Bioscience, Inc. pursuant to which the companies will combine in an all-stock transaction.

In current trading, Inspirato Incorporated (ISPO) stock is at $4.18 after announcing an agreement to be acquired by Exclusive Investments LLC.

Udemy Inc (UDMY) rose 26.66% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $6.8 after announcing a definitive merger agreement with Coursera under which Coursera will combine with Udemy in an all-stock transaction.

In the current trading session, VolitionRX Ltd (VNRX) jumped 25.20% to $0.3 over a previous close of $0.24. The company issued its business review for 2025.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

Academy Sports and Outdoors Inc (ASO) 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 $0.13 per share. It has fixed December 18 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on January 15. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.50 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, ASO has a trailing yield of 0.92% on the current stock price of $54.38.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Smith & Wesson Brands Inc (SWBI), having a market capitalization of $477.41M. It will pay a dividend of $0.13 per share, with a payment date of January 2. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 4.85%.

Shares of Huntington Bancshares, Inc (HBAN) 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 $0.15 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.62 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that HBAN has a trailing yield of 3.47% on the current share price of $17.88.

Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Inc (KLIC) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from KLIC will amount to $0.2 per share. December 18 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for January 06. In the previous year, KLIC distributed a total of $0.82 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for KLIC stands at 1.75% based on the current stock price of $46.87.

Northrim Bancorp, Inc (NRIM) will be paying out a dividend of $0.16 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of December 18. Over the past 12 months, NRIM has paid out a total of $0.64 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, NRIM boasts an impressive trailing yield of 2.31% on the current share price of $27.43.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Securitize plans to launch compliant, natively tokenized stocks in early 2026, enabling real-time, fully on-chain trading of equity ownership.

• Uniform Labs introduced Multiliquid, a solution designed to bridge tokenized funds and stablecoins by addressing liquidity constraints that have limited institutional adoption.

• Binance cautioned users against token listing agents and announced rewards of up to $5 million for whistleblowers who report listing-related fraud.

• Hut 8 signed a 15-year, $7 billion lease to supply 245 megawatts of AI data center capacity at its River Bend campus in Louisiana, one of the largest infrastructure deals linking a crypto-native firm with hyperscale AI demand.

• KuCoin secured an exclusive multiyear partnership with Tomorrowland Winter and Tomorrowland Belgium from 2026 to 2028, becoming the festivals’ official crypto and payments partner.

Most Shorted Stocks

Antelope Enterprise Holdings Ltd (AEHL) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 215.50% 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 1730508 shares, which corresponds to a 2,434.87% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $4.25 million. The average daily volume stands at 3.32M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $8.07M.

The AnaptysBio Inc with the symbol ANAB currently has a short interest of 31.84%. The short interest has changed by -66987 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 8.8. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $266.37 million. On an average day, 580.14K shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $1.26B.

For the stock CNX Resources Corp (CNX), the current short interest is at 22.38%. This represents a significant short interest change of 1405751 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of 5.13%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 18.2. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $1.09 billion.

With the symbol CETX, the stock currently has a short interest of 31.12%. The short interest change is 134822 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of 141.68%. It would take approximately 1.1 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $64.21 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 2.73M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $1.52M.

The stock AAOI has a current short interest of 22.07%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of 11.76% while there was a change of 1513652 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 3.2. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $6.62 million. Trading activity averages at 5.27M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $1.97B.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ADR (TSM) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 56. The stock's profitability, performance, growth, and Piotroski Score are strong. However, its financial strength is weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of stock sentiment and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Okta Inc (OKTA) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 55. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak growth, stock sentiment, and a forecast. The financial strength is neutral.

Another stock in the category, ON Semiconductor Corp (ON) has the ST Score of 54, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability and Piotroski Score but weak in growth, stock sentiment, and forecast. Performance and financial strength suggest a neutral outlook.

Arista Networks Inc (ANET) stock has the ST Score of 54, which implies that the AI 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.

Twilio Inc (TWLO) currently has the ST Score of 57, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. The stock's growth, 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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