These Under-$10 Stocks Just Exploded 💣 Are They Just Getting Started?

U.S. stocks began 2026 higher, with the S&P 500 up 0.3% on the first trading day of the year, supported by strength in semiconductors. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 26 points, or 0.1%. 

Nvidia rose 2% and Micron jumped about 8%, building on strong 2025 performances of +39% and +240%, respectively. Software stocks lagged, with Salesforce down more than 3% and CrowdStrike off over 2%, while Tesla also declined after missing delivery estimates.

Elsewhere, Wayfair (+5%) and RH (+6%) rallied after a one-year delay of tariff increases. The S&P 500 ended 2025 up more than 16%, the Nasdaq up over 20%, and the Dow up around 13%, and Wall Street strategists see further upside in 2026, with an average S&P 500 target of 7,629, implying gains of about 11.4%.

Top Movers: Under $10 

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc (IRWD) is up 33.68% today to trade at the current level of $4.51. This comes after the company announced financial guidance for the full year 2026.

ChowChow Cloud International Holdings Ltd (CHOW) zoomed 28.98% in today’s trade to $0.78 after announcing its unaudited financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2025.

In current trading, ParaZero Technologies Ltd (PRZO) stock is at $1.05 after announcing that it has received its first purchase order from a main Israeli defense entity for the Company’s advanced DefendAir Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (CUAS).

AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc (UAVS) rose 27.40% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $1.04 after announcing successful drone and sensor sales to the U.S. Army.

In the current trading session, Datavault AI Inc (DVLT) jumped 27.71% to $0.83 over a previous close of $0.65 after announcing that it has appointed Kasowitz LLP and Marc Kasowitz to bolster the Company's intellectual property and litigation capabilities.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

Escalade, Inc (ESCA) 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 $0.15 per share. It has fixed January 05 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on January 12. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.60 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, ESCA has a trailing yield of 4.32% on the current stock price of $13.88.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends on Monday is Hingham Institution For Savings (HIFS), having a market capitalization of $577.64M. It will pay a dividend of $1.33 per share, the payment date of which is January 14. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 0.95%.

Shares of Werner Enterprises, Inc (WERN) 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 $0.14 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.56 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that WERN has a trailing yield of 1.86% on the current share price of $30.16.

Riverview Bancorp, Inc (RVSB) is also set to go ex-dividend on Monday. The next dividend payment from RVSB will amount to $0.02 per share. January 05 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for January 16. In the previous year, RVSB distributed a total of $0.08 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for RVSB stands at 1.58% based on the current stock price of $5.07.

NorthEast Community Bancorp Inc (NECB) 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 January 05. Over the past 12 months, NECB has paid out a total of $0.75 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, NECB boasts an impressive trailing yield of 3.29% on the current share price of $22.64.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Ongoing debates over holding limits and privacy are shaping the digital euro’s final design, with the EU Council backing the ECB’s proposal that includes both online and offline functionality.

• Coinbase will focus through 2026 on expanding stablecoins, its Ethereum layer-2 network Base, and developing exchange products beyond cryptocurrencies, according to CEO Brian Armstrong.

• South Korea’s Korea Exchange (KRX) plans to roll out more investment products, including crypto ETFs and derivatives, as part of efforts to modernize its capital markets.

• Crypto executive Kain Warwick will pay $50,000 after losing a bet that Ether would reach $25,000 in 2025, reflecting the broader overestimation of ETH’s post-October recovery.

• Solana is set to broaden beyond its memecoin-driven, retail-heavy image after recording record real-world asset tokenization activity in December.

Most Shorted Stocks

Biodexa Pharmaceuticals Plc ADR (BDRX) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 80.00% 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 0.2. This represents a change of 370280 shares, which corresponds to a 298.38% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $1.12 million. The average daily volume stands at 1.07M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $1.40M.

The 3D Systems Corp with the symbol DDD currently has a short interest of 32.03%. The short interest has changed by 1134332 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 10.5. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $71.78 million. On an average day, 3.59M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $234.95M.

For the stock Intellia Therapeutics Inc (NTLA), the current short interest is at 36.15%. This represents a significant short interest change of -3994452 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -8.96%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 10.4. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $376.97 million.

With the symbol NVAX, the stock currently has a short interest of 32.69%. The short interest change is 729138 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of 1.41%. It would take approximately 17.1 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $287.7 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 4.00M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $1.15B.

The stock CLSK has a current short interest of 32.64%. The short interest percentage has experienced decrease of -0.33% while there was a change of -266315 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 2.4. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $588.49 million. Trading activity averages at 33.28M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $2.86B.

Energy Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Sandridge Energy Inc (SD) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Energy industry, attaining an impressive score of 68. 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 NCS Multistage Holdings Inc (NCSM) as a high-quality Energy stock today, presenting a Score of 65. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. The profitability, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Par Pacific Holdings Inc (PARR) has the ST Score of 60, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, growth, and Piotroski Score, but weak in financial strength. Stock sentiment, and forecasts suggest a neutral outlook.

International Seaways Inc (INSW) 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, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. However, it shows neutral outlook in growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Cactus Inc (WHD) currently has the ST Score of 58, 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 performance. 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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