Stocks Split, Jobs Miss, Tech Slides... What’s Breaking First? ⚠️📊

U.S. stocks were mixed on Wednesday as investors weighed fresh earnings and awaited Alphabet’s results, while AI-related concerns continued to pressure tech shares.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 0.6%, benefiting from a rotation into blue-chip and value stocks, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite fell more than 1%, extending Tuesday’s losses.

Shares of Nvidia and Microsoft declined, and AMD plunged after issuing weak sales guidance, reinforcing fears that even strong earnings may not be enough unless companies show AI as a growth driver.

Meanwhile, an ADP report showed private employers added just 22,000 jobs in January versus expectations of 45,000, adding to market caution. Gold gained on U.S.-Iran tensions but retreated below $5,000 an ounce after an earlier rebound.

Top Movers: Under $10 

Mobix Labs Inc (MOBX) is up 31.22% today to trade at the current level of $0.24. This comes after the company announced that it has entered the field deployment phase for its drone-based airborne sensing platform, initiating customer pilots and real-world operations targeting critical infrastructure inspection.

Oncolytics Biotech, Inc (ONCY) zoomed 14.49% in today’s trade to $1.00 after receiving FDA fast track designation for Pelareorep in 2L KRAS-Mutant MSS Metastatic Colorectal Cancer.

In current trading, Evogene Ltd (EVGN) stock is at $1.15 after announcing an exclusive global licensing deal with Shanghai Lishan Biopharmaceuticals for BMC128.

8X8 Inc (EGHT) rose 49.30% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $2.48 after fiscal Q3 2026 beat on revenue and EPS, posting $185.1M revenue.

In the current trading session, InnovAge Holding Corp (INNV) jumped 32.16% to $7.48 over a previous close of $5.66 after announcing financial results for the fiscal second quarter ended December 31, 2025.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

Bank of Marin Bancorp (BMRC) 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 $0.25 per share. It has fixed February 05 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on February 12. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.00 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, BMRC has a trailing yield of 3.62% on the current stock price of $27.65.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Franklin Electric Co., Inc (FELE), having a market capitalization of $4.65B. It will pay a dividend of $0.28 per share, the payment date of which is February 19. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 1.01%.

Shares of Heritage Commerce Corp (HTBK) 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 $0.13 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.52 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that HTBK has a trailing yield of 3.87% on the current share price of $13.42.

NB Bancorp Inc (NBBK) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from NBBK will amount to $0.07 per share. February 05 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for February 19. In the previous year, NBBK distributed a total of $0.14 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for NBBK stands at 0.63% based on the current stock price of $22.1.

Northwest Bancshares Inc (NWBI) will be paying out a dividend of $0.2 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of February 05. Over the past 12 months, NWBI has paid out a total of $0.80 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, NWBI boasts an impressive trailing yield of 5.95% on the current share price of $13.44.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Binance reported stable on-chain reserves and no immediate signs of stress, even amid market volatility and growing criticism on social media.

• A survey of senior crypto investors and executives indicates capital is shifting away from DeFi toward core infrastructure, driven by concerns over liquidity and market plumbing.

• TRM Labs raised $70 million in a Series C round at a $1 billion valuation, becoming the latest crypto firm to achieve unicorn status.

• The UK House of Lords heard skeptical testimony on stablecoins, with witnesses arguing they function mainly as on- and off-ramps into crypto rather than the future of money.

• Mercado Bitcoin deployed over $20 million in tokenized private credit on Bitcoin sidechain Rootstock, expanding its real-world asset strategy and aiming for $100 million in issuances by April.

Most Shorted Stocks

SoundHound AI Inc (SOUN) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 31.01% 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 4.1. This represents a change of 7530674 shares, which corresponds to a 6.80% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $938.37 million. The average daily volume stands at 26.89M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $3.33B.

The LENZ Therapeutics Inc with the symbol LENZ currently has a short interest of 29.95%. The short interest has changed by 1038397 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 7.7. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $130.62 million. On an average day, 1.23M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $468.41M.

For the stock MARA Holdings Inc (MARA), the current short interest is at 28.05%. This represents a significant short interest change of 1431541 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of 1.38%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 2.7. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $882.85 million.

With the symbol GO, the stock currently has a short interest of 26.94%. The short interest change is 974515 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of 4.01%. It would take approximately 9.7 days to cover all the short positions. The shares' short value is estimated to be around $1.04 billion. The company boasts an average daily volume of 2.69M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $971.56M.

The stock KSS has a current short interest of 26.22%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of 0.38%, while there was a change of 110066 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 7.9. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $472.93 million. Trading activity averages at 4.74M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $2.10B.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, EPAM Systems Inc (EPAM) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 63. The stock's profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ADR (BABA) as a high-quality AI 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, Tower Semiconductor Ltd (TSEM) 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, but weak in growth. Stock sentiment and forecasts suggest a neutral outlook.

Camtek Ltd (CAMT) stock has the ST Score of 59, which implies that the AI company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. However, it shows a neutral outlook in growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR) currently has the ST Score of 59, 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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