🧨 Stocks Pop, AI Heats Up, and a $1 Stock Explodes 261%?!

US stocks moved higher on Wednesday as investors reacted to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address and awaited a pivotal earnings report from Nvidia.

The Nasdaq Composite led gains, rising 0.8%, followed by the S&P 500 up 0.5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.3%, as investors rotated back into technology shares.

Markets are closely watching results from Nvidia, alongside earnings from Salesforce and Snowflake, amid ongoing scrutiny of elevated tech valuations and AI-driven capital spending. Optimism around artificial intelligence also improved after Anthropic expanded enterprise features for its Claude platform.

Meanwhile, select stocks saw notable moves, with CRCL surging on strong revenue growth and Lowe's slipping despite beating estimates, while Trump’s address set the broader political backdrop for markets this week.

Top Movers: Under $10 

XWELL Inc (XWEL) is up 261.11% today to trade at the current level of $1.37 after announcing approximately $31.3 million private placement priced at the market under Nasdaq Rules.

Classover Holdings Inc (KIDZ) zoomed 25.29% in today’s trade to $0.12 after announcing 200% increase in instructional productivity with an AI-driven education model.

In current trading, Signing Day Sports Inc (SGN) stock is at $0.68 after announcing BlockchAIn's AI-focused initiative for next generation power-advantaged digital infrastructure platform.

BTQ Technologies Corp (BTQ) rose 24.21% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $3.13 after announcing new quantum hardware commercialization hub in New York City and key engineering hires to accelerate QCIM.

In the current trading session, VolitionRX Ltd (VNRX) jumped 17.87% to $0.23 over a previous close of $0.19 after providing a consolidated update on the significant clinical and commercial progress achieved over recent months.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

Enact Holdings Inc (ACT) 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 $0.21 per share. It has fixed February 26 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on March 19. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.81 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, ACT has a trailing yield of 1.96% on the current stock price of $41.65.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Cathay General Bancorp (CATY), having a market capitalization of $3.51B. It will pay a dividend of $0.38 per share, the payment date of which is March 09. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 2.64%.

Shares of Cognex Corp (CGNX) 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 $0.09 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.33 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that CGNX has a trailing yield of 0.57% on the current share price of $56.97.

CSP Inc (CSPI) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from CSPI will amount to $0.03 per share. February 26 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for March 12. In the previous year, CSPI distributed a total of $0.12 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for CSPI stands at 1.33% based on the current stock price of $9.02.

Marriott International, Inc (MAR) will be paying out a dividend of $0.67 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of February 26. Over the past 12 months, MAR has paid out a total of $2.64 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, MAR boasts an impressive trailing yield of 0.77% on the current share price of $344.21.

Crypto Market Highlights

• 21Shares has launched a new crypto ETP in Europe offering exposure to preferred stock issued by Michael Saylor’s company, Strategy, the world’s largest public holder of Bitcoin.

• South Korea is preparing new regulations that would require social-media influencers promoting cryptocurrencies and stocks to disclose their holdings and any paid sponsorships.

• FG Nexus sold 7,550 ETH (about $14 million), adding to prior disposals and bringing total realized losses to over $80 million on Ether acquired near projected 2025 highs.

• Binance denied allegations related to Iranian users, stating it flags suspicious activity, enforces strict compliance measures, and does not allow users from Iran on its platform.

• Bitcoin Depot will require ID verification for all crypto ATM transactions amid increased regulatory scrutiny over scams and money laundering concerns.

Most Shorted Stocks

Shift4 Payments Inc (FOUR) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 21.80% 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 7.5. This represents a change of -668339 shares, which corresponds to a -4.42% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $822.41 million. The average daily volume stands at 1.86M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $5.04B.

The BlackSky Technology Inc with the symbol BKSY currently has a short interest of 21.59%. The short interest has changed by 469728 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 4.7. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $157.31 million. On an average day, 1.39M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $757.28M.

For the stock CorMedix Inc (CRMD), the current short interest is at 23.52%. This represents a significant short interest change of 846109 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of 5.10%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 5.0. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $126.13 million.

With the symbol PAR, the stock currently has a short interest of 21.52%. The short interest change is -78871 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -0.93%. It would take approximately 5.7 days to cover all the short positions. The shares' short value is estimated to be around $352.92 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 919.67K shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $821.16M.

The stock RIGL has a current short interest of 22.59%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of 0.78%, while there was a change of 28764 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 12.1. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $288.06 million. Trading activity averages at 444.91K shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $621.59M.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Airship AI Holdings Inc (AISP) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 52. The stock's financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of profitability, performance, growth, and Piotroski Score.

Our ST Score also classifies Medtronic Plc (MDT) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 56. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score. However, it has weak growth and financial strength. The stock sentiment and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, NVIDIA Corp (NVDA) has the ST Score of 52, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, growth, financial strength, and Piotroski Score, but weak in performance. Stock sentiment and forecasts suggest a neutral outlook.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ADR (TSM) stock has the ST Score of 52, which implies that the AI company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability and Piotroski Score. However, it shows neutral outlook in performance, growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Twilio Inc (TWLO) currently has the ST Score of 53, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. The stock's performance, 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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