Top Energy Stocks: High-Growth Picks & $10 Breakout Opportunities

US stocks rose on Friday as investors assessed a mix of economic signals, including fresh inflation data and Apple’s latest earnings, which pushed the tech giant’s shares higher.

As of 11:22 AM ET, the Dow was up 20.46 points, or 0.04558607%, at $44902.59. The Nasdaq Composite added 310.012 points, or 1.44137%, at $21818.135. The S&P 500 rose 44.83 points, or 0.73841%, at $6116. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 8 showed positive movement, with Consumer Cyclical leading the way with a 1.18% increase.

The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, recorded a 2.6% year-over-year increase in December, slightly higher than November’s 2.4% but in line with market expectations.

Despite the inflation data leaving room for potential rate cuts in the first half of 2025, analysts suggest the Fed may maintain a cautious stance. "This report underscores the importance of a disciplined, wait-and-see approach before making policy shifts," said Jochen Stanzl, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

Meanwhile, investors are keeping an eye on a looming February 1 deadline, after which President Donald Trump has indicated he could impose new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, adding another layer of uncertainty to global trade relations.

Top Movers: Under $10

Signing Day Sports Inc (SGN) is up 35.35% today to trade at the current level of $3.46. This comes after the company announced the signing of a new Sponsorship Agreement with the U.S. Army Bowl, extending its rights as “National Recruiting Partner”.

PLBY Group Inc (PLBY) zoomed 31.64% in today’s trade to $2.19 after announcing that it has converted 25% of its outstanding shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock into shares of its common stock as part of an ongoing streamlining of the balance sheet and deleveraging of the Company.

In current trading, Cipher Mining Inc (CIFR) stock is at $6.11 after announcing $50 million PIPE Investment from SoftBank Group.

NLS Pharmaceutics Ltd (NLSP) rose 23.23% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $2.44 after the company and Kadimastem Ltd. (KDST) announced that in a special general meeting of shareholders, Kadimastem's shareholders approved the merger with NLS.

In the current trading session, Nauticus Robotics Inc (KITT) jumped 28.21% to $2.00 over a previous close of $1.56 after reporting that it has entered into a strategic alliance with Leidos (NYSE: LDOS) to advance subsea autonomy solutions.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Assurant Inc (AIZ) is about to trade ex-dividend Monday, 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 $0.8 per share. It has fixed February 03 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on March 31. Last year, the company distributed a total of $2.96 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, AIZ has a trailing yield of 1.35% on the current stock price of $218.62.

Shares of Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI) will be the talk of stock market on Monday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.29 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $1.15 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that KMI has a trailing yield of 4.11% on the current share price of $27.85.

Tomorrow, MPLX LP (MPLX) is also set to go ex-dividend on Monday. The next dividend payment from MPLX will amount to $0.96 per share. February 03 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for February 14. In the previous year, MPLX distributed a total of $3.51 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for MPLX stands at 6.60% based on the current stock price of $53.13.

NiSource Inc (NI) will be paying out a dividend of $0.28 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of February 03. Over the past 12 months, NI has paid out a total of $1.06 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, NI boasts an impressive trailing yield of 2.83% on the current share price of $37.46.

Crypto Market Highlights

• MicroStrategy priced its perpetual strike preferred stock offering at $80 per share, with plans to issue on Feb. 5.

• Errol Musk, Elon Musk's father, is reportedly launching his own memecoin project called Musk It (MUSKIT).

• Solana-based ridesharing app Teleport is shutting down due to insufficient market readiness for decentralized ridesharing.

• The US Securities and Exchange Commission approved Bitwise Asset Management’s Bitcoin and Ethereum tracking exchange-traded fund.

• Tether announced it will bring its stablecoin to Bitcoin via the Lightning Network layer 2 scaling service.

Most Shorted Stocks

Lemonade Inc (LMND) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 31.83% 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 6.5. This represents a change of 2790000 shares, which corresponds to a +19.84% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $585.2 million. The average daily volume stands at 2.70M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $2.48B.

The Arbor Realty Trust Inc with the symbol ABR currently has a short interest of 30.30%. The short interest has changed by 370000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 25.6. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $769.68 million. On an average day, 2.30M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $2.54B.

For the stock SEALSQ Corp (LAES), the current short interest is at 39.18%. This represents a significant short interest change of -2860000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -21.77%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 0.2. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $34.13 million.

With the symbol KWE, the stock currently has a short interest of 55.46%. The short interest change is 409200 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +103.59%. It would take approximately 0.3 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $5.04 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 2.64M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $0.82M.

The stock ALT has a current short interest of 34.58%. The short interest percentage has experienced increase of +3.80% while there was a change of 900000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 7.7. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $5.54 million. Trading activity averages at 3.29M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $489.69M.

Energy Stocks to Watch

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

Our ST Score also classifies Mexco Energy Corp (MXC) as a high-quality Energy stock today, presenting a Score of 61. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. The performance, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Teekay Corporation Ltd (TK) has the ST Score of 61, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score but weak in growth. Profitability, stock sentiment, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Hess Corporation (HES) stock has the ST Score of 60 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.

Cosan S.A ADR (CSAN) currently has the ST Score of 59, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Energy stock's strong points are its profitability, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its performance. The stock's growth, financial strength, 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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