Smart Money Is Quietly Loading Tech—Here’s Why 🧠💰

US stocks showed mixed performance on Friday, with tech shares leading gains as strong earnings from Intel boosted investor confidence despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.

The Nasdaq rose 0.6%, and the S&P 500 edged up 0.1%, while the Dow fell 0.4%. Chipmakers rallied, signaling that AI-driven demand may be lifting even traditional tech firms.

Meanwhile, markets are closely monitoring geopolitical developments, including a temporary extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire and its potential impact on US-Iran relations and tensions around the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil prices declined slightly, with Brent crude falling below $100 per barrel and WTI near $95. Investors are also focusing on key earnings reports and upcoming consumer sentiment data for further market direction.

Top Movers: Under $10 

Scinai Immunotherapeutics Ltd ADR (SCNI) is up 95.26% today to trade at the current level of $0.89. This comes after the company announced $2.61 million in private placement financing.

AEye Inc (LIDR) zoomed 43.20% in today’s trade to $2.42 after announcing the grant of an inducement equity award to its newly appointed Vice President of Operations and Quality, Paul Berton.

In current trading, Freecast Inc (CAST) stock is at $2.24 after announcing a national distribution agreement with DIRECTV Multifamily that authorizes FreeCast to market and sell DIRECTV streaming services in Multifamily housing.

Wimi Hologram Cloud Inc (WIMI) rose 13.48% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $2.02 after announcing a net income of RMB 347 million for 2025, a year-on-year increase of 235%.

In the current trading session, Atomera Inc (ATOM) jumped 11.23% to $6.89 over a previous close of $6.19 after announcing an expanded collaboration with Synopsys, Inc. to advance gallium nitride (GaN) device modeling for radio frequency (RF) and power semiconductor applications.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

Sanfilippo (John B.) & Son Inc (JBSS) 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 $1.5 per share. It has fixed April 27 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on May 21. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.89 to its shareholders. Based on last year's payments, JBSS has a trailing yield of 1.09% at the current stock price of $81.44.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends on Monday is OceanFirst Financial Corp (OCFC), having a market capitalization of $1.09B. It will pay a dividend of $0.2 per share, the payment date of which is May 08. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 4.20%.

Shares of South Plains Financial Inc (SPFI) 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 $0.17 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.64 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that SPFI has a trailing yield of 1.47% on the current share price of $43.61.

Union Bankshares Inc (UNB) is also set to go ex-dividend on Monday. The next dividend payment from UNB will amount to $0.36 per share. April 27 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for May 07. In the previous year, UNB distributed a total of $1.44 to its valued shareholders. Considering last year's cumulative dividend payments, the trailing yield for UNB is 5.85% based on the current stock price of $24.63.

Value Line Inc (VALU) will be paying out a dividend of $0.35 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of business hours on the record date of April 27. Over the past 12 months, VALU has paid out a total of $1.30 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, VALU boasts an impressive trailing yield of 3.61% on the current share price of $35.98.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Tether froze over $344 million in USDt across two wallet addresses at the request of U.S. law enforcement, citing links to unlawful activity.

• PUSD, with about $2.3 billion in circulation and backed 1:1 by Gulf currencies, is set to launch on ADI Chain for institutional settlement in the Middle East.

• Spanish police in Almería seized two crypto cold wallets containing around €400,000 and arrested three suspects linked to the country’s largest illegal Spanish-language manga platform, which generated over €4 million in the past decade.

• Morgan Stanley introduced a “Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio” under the Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Funds, allowing issuers to earn interest on reserves while maintaining liquidity and a stable $1 NAV.

• Following a $293 million exploit of the Kelp, DeFi protocols including Aave, Lido DAO, and the Golem Foundation pledged over 43,500 ETH (more than $101 million) to support rsETH recovery.

Most Shorted Stocks

Core Scientific Inc (CORZ) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 20.88% short interest. The days-to-cover ratio, a measure of how long it would take for all short positions to be covered based on average trading volume, is 3.3. This represents a change of 3101337 shares, which corresponds to a 5.11% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $1.33 billion. The average daily volume stands at 12.28M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $6.57B.

The Enphase Energy Inc with the symbol ENPH currently has a short interest of 19.89%. The short interest has changed by 4517973 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 5.1. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $918.63 million. On an average day, 6.80M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $4.77B.

For the stock Strive Inc (ASST), the current short interest is at 19.65%. This represents a significant short interest change of 790300 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of 6.36%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 3.7. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $214.2 million.

With the symbol VUZI, the stock currently has a short interest of 20.84%. The short interest change is -235805 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -1.46%. It would take approximately 15.2 days to cover all the short positions. The shares' short value is estimated to be around $31.6 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 988.11K shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $198.75M.

The stock KULR has a current short interest of 20.84%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of -1.46%, while there was a change of -235,805 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 15.2. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $36.71 million. Trading activity averages at 743,101 shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $198.75M.

Energy Stocks to Watch

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

Our ST Score also classifies Teekay Tankers Ltd (TNK) as a high-quality Energy stock today, presenting a Score of 62. 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, Scorpio Tankers Inc (STNG) has the ST Score of 61, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. Growth, stock sentiment, and forecasts suggest a neutral outlook.

Tenaris SA ADR (TS) stock has the ST Score of 61, 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, but its weaknesses are in its growth. However, it shows a neutral outlook in performance, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Cactus Inc (WHD) currently has the ST Score of 61, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Energy stock's strong points are its profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its growth. The stock's performance, 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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