📈 Stocks Roar Back—But Oil Crashes & Shorts Are in Trouble

U.S. stocks rose at Thursday’s open, snapping a two-day losing streak as strong results from TSMC lifted AI-related shares. 

The Nasdaq Composite climbed about 0.6%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.4% and the Dow Jones rose 0.5%. TSMC reported a 35% jump in Q4 profit and announced plans to boost investment to $56 billion by 2026, fueling gains across chip stocks, including Nvidia. 

On the earnings front, Goldman Sachs beat expectations, and BlackRock reported record assets of $14 trillion. Elsewhere, Brent and WTI crude fell roughly 4%, while silver prices retreated after hitting record levels.

Top Movers: Under $10 

Springview Holdings Ltd (SPHL) is up 300.00% today to trade at the current level of $9.00. This comes after the company announced a strategic partnership with Jiangsu GSO New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. to introduce solar and green-energy solutions for residential housing in Singapore.

Callan Jmb Inc (CJMB) zoomed 209.07% in today’s trade to $3.46 after announcing a strategic teaming agreement with Attune Biotech Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company.

In current trading, authID Inc (AUID) stock is at $2.05 after announcing an integration with ServiceNow to securely verify identities at the contact center to protect accounts and reduce fraud.

Bonk Inc (BNKK) rose 66.19% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $4.62. The company highlighted a major institutional milestone for the asset class.

In the current trading session, GT Biopharma Inc (GTBP) jumped 10.77% to $0.72 over a previous close of $0.73 after announcing IND submission for GTB-5550 TriKE, a B7-H3-targeted natural killer (NK) cell engager for B7-H3 expressing solid tumor cancers.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

Oxford Square Capital Corp (OXSQ) 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 $0.04 per share. It has fixed March 17 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on March 31. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.42 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, OXSQ has a trailing yield of 22.28% on the current stock price of $1.88.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Pathfinder Bancorp, Inc (PBHC), having a market capitalization of $87.68M. It will pay a dividend of $0.1 per share, the payment date of which is February 06. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 2.82%.

Shares of RGC Resources, Inc (RGCO) will be the talk of the stock market on Friday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.22 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.83 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that RGCO has a trailing yield of 3.87% on the current share price of $21.5.

WD-40 Co (WDFC) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from WDFC will amount to $1.02 per share. January 16 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for January 30. In the previous year, WDFC distributed a total of $3.76 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for WDFC stands at 1.83% based on the current stock price of $205.74.

ArrowMark Financial Corp (BANX) will be paying out a dividend of $0.1 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of business hours on the record date of January 22. Over the past 12 months, BANX has paid out a total of $1.78 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, BANX boasts an impressive trailing yield of 8.53% on the current share price of $20.82.

Crypto Market Highlights

• The UK is weighing an Australia-style ban on social media for under-16s as regulators ramp up enforcement of the Online Safety Act.

• SWIFT has tested Societe Generale’s euro-pegged stablecoin, with SG-Forge completing the exchange and settlement of tokenized bonds in both fiat and digital currencies.

• Galaxy Digital has completed its first tokenized CLO, using blockchain infrastructure to bring private credit and crypto-backed loans onchain.

• BitMine Immersion Technology has agreed to invest $200 million in Beast Industries, the entertainment company founded by YouTube star MrBeast, marking one of its largest non-core equity investments.

• Cryptocurrency markets experienced their largest short squeeze since early October, as a rebound in prices forced bearish traders to unwind positions and fueled hopes of a broader recovery.

Most Shorted Stocks

Enovix Corporation (ENVX) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 27.70% 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 9.5. This represents a change of -1488746 shares, which corresponds to a -2.82% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $418.01 million. The average daily volume stands at 6.89M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $1.76B.

The Xerox Holdings Corp with the symbol XRX currently has a short interest of 19.48%. The short interest has changed by 1770000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 4.8. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $57.76 million. On an average day, 3.74M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $326.50M.

For the stock Absci Corp (ABSI), the current short interest is at 26.42%. This represents a significant short interest change of 2531725 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of 7.67%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 12.1. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $114.13 million.

With the symbol DRMA, the stock currently has a short interest of 90.00%. The short interest change is 713073 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of 1,812.08%. It would take approximately 0.2 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $75.73 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 878.18K shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $2.19M.

The stock TWST has a current short interest of 18.38%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of 3.32%, while there was a change of 350698 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 5.9. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $30.52 million. Trading activity averages at 1.53M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $2.49B.

Biotech Stock to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Forte Biosciences Inc (FBRX) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Biotech industry, attaining an impressive score of 59. The stock's performance and financial strength are strong. However, its growth, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast are weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of profitability.

Our ST Score also classifies Climb Bio Inc (CLYM) as a high-quality Biotech stock today, presenting a Score of 64. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, and financial strength. However, it has weak growth and a Piotroski Score. The stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Immucell Corp (ICCC) has the ST Score of 60, 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 forecasts suggest a neutral outlook.

Bright Minds Biosciences Inc (DRUG) stock has the ST Score of 56, which implies that the Biotech company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, performance, and financial strength, but its weaknesses are in its growth, and Piotroski Score. However, it shows neutral outlook in stock sentiment and forecast.

Minerva Neurosciences Inc (NERV) currently has the ST Score of 57, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Biotech stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, and financial strength, while its weak points are its stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast. The stock's growth indicates a neutral outlook.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading. Good luck out there!

Best Regards,

Stocks Telegraph Team

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