Noon Focus: Energy Stocks to Watch & $10 Gems Ready to Surge

Stocks are poised to gain as the market heads into a shortened Black Friday session, marking the final trading day of an eventful month. While retailers brace for the year’s biggest shopping day, investors will face a light news day, with markets closing early at 1 p.m. Eastern. This session could set the tone for December after the S&P 500’s impressive 26% gain since the start of the year.

At 11:24 AM ET, the Dow was up 227.34 points, or 0.5083%, at $44949.41. The Nasdaq Composite added 170.92 points, or 0.8239%, at $20915.411. The S&P 500 rose 35.26 points, or 0.5878%, at $6033.99. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 8 showed positive movement, with Energy leading the way with a 0.78% increase.

November has been packed with major developments. Donald Trump’s presidential victory bolstered markets with promises of tax cuts and regulatory easing, while the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates. The latest inflation figures aligned with expectations, keeping the Fed on track for another quarter-point rate cut in December.

The New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, and over-the-counter markets open at 9:30 a.m. Eastern and close early at 1 p.m. Bond markets will open at 8 a.m. Eastern and close at 2 p.m. points, or -0.3891%, at $5998.21. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 7 showed negative movement, with Utilities leading the way with a -2.58% decrease.

Top Movers: Under $10

ParaZero Technologies Ltd (PRZO) is up 123.89% today to trade at the current level of $1.43. This comes after the company announced that it received the prestigious Design Verification Report (DVR) approval from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for its SafeAir M-300 Pro and SafeAir M-350 Pro parachute safety kits.

DevvStream Corp (DEVS) zoomed 29.46% in today’s trade to $0.99 after announcing an agreement transferring the ownership of all renewable and carbon assets generated by the Sogod Energy Inc. Medellin Solar Power facility to DevvStream in the form of international renewable energy certificates.

In current trading, Gorilla Technology Group Inc (GRRR) stock is at $5.99 following news that the company shortlisted for a groundbreaking smart education project in Southeast Asia.

Spectral AI Inc (MDAI) rose 19.52% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $1.75. The company announced the repricing of its public warrants.

In the current trading session, Rigetti Computing Inc (RGTI) jumped 26.87% to $3.05 over a previous close of $2.40. The company announced the pricing of $100 million registered direct offering of common stock priced at the market under Nasdaq rules.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Aramark (ARMK) is about to trade ex-dividend Monday, 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 $0.1 per share. It has fixed December 02 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on December 12. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.38 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, ARMK has a trailing yield of 0.93% on the current stock price of $40.71.

Shares of F.N.B. Corp (FNB) will be the talk of the stock market on Monday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.12 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.48 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that FNB has a trailing yield of 2.82% on the current share price of $17.02.

Tomorrow, Interpublic Group Of Cos., Inc (IPG) is also set to go ex-dividend on Monday. The next dividend payment from IPG will amount to $0.33 per share. December 02 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for December 16. In the previous year, IPG distributed a total of $1.30 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for IPG stands at 4.24% based on the current stock price of $30.67.

Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT) will be paying out a dividend of $3.3 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of December 02. Over the past 12 months, LMT has paid out a total of $12.60 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, LMT boasts an impressive trailing yield of 2.39% on the current share price of $526.97.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson predicts that decentralized finance (DeFi) in the Bitcoin ecosystem will surpass all other crypto DeFi platforms within 2-3 years, emphasizing Bitcoin's DeFi potential and a new model for bridging Bitcoin without centralized exchanges.

• Bitcoin could attract an additional $2 trillion in investments by 2025, driven by expectations of continued liquidity injections, with the U.S. Federal Reserve projected to increase the global money supply by 18% to over $127 trillion. 

• Taiwan moves forward with new Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations for cryptocurrency businesses, following fines imposed on two crypto exchanges for violations.

• The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) began subsidizing the costs of issuing tokenized bonds to encourage the tokenization of its capital markets.

• Deutsche Bank participates in the second Series B funding round for blockchain firm Partior, contributing to a total of $80 million raised, bringing Partior’s total funding to over $111 million across both Series A and B rounds. 

Most Shorted Stocks

Beyond Meat Inc (BYND) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 45.69% 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 11.6. This represents a change of 1880000 shares, which corresponds to a +7.23% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $139.22 million. The average daily volume stands at 2.40M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $325.37M.

The Medical Properties Trust Inc with the symbol MPW currently has a short interest of 44.03%. The short interest has changed by 5730000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 18.8. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $986.85 million. On an average day, 12.15M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $2.60B.

For the stock Kohl's Corp (KSS), the current short interest is at 34.76%. This represents a significant short interest change of 2550000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of +7.18%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 4.7. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $568.85 million.

With the symbol LCID, the stock currently has a short interest of 33.06%. The short interest change is 21880000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +8.05%. It would take approximately 5.9 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $82.95 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 49.56M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $6.58B.

The stock CHPT has a current short interest of 32.99%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of +10.02% while there was a change of 11810000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 10.6. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $352.27 million. Trading activity averages at 12.18M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $515.74M.

Energy Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Natural Gas Services Group, Inc (NGS) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Energy industry, attaining an impressive score of 62. The stock's profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score are strong. However, its financial strength are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Global Partners LP (GLP) as a high-quality Energy stock today, presenting a Score of 54. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of performance, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak profitability, growth, and financial strength. The stock sentiment and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Natural Resource Partners LP (NRP) has the ST Score of 54, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score but weak in financial strength. Growth, stock sentiment, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Precision Drilling Corp (PDS) stock has the ST Score of 54 which implies that the Energy 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.

Mexco Energy Corp (MXC) currently has the ST Score of 53, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Energy 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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