📊 Trade Setup: Market Panic Creates New Opportunities

US markets came under pressure on Wednesday as escalating US-Iran tensions rattled investor sentiment and pushed oil prices sharply higher. 

President Trump declared the US-Iran memorandum of understanding "over," raising fears of renewed conflict in the Middle East after US strikes on Iranian targets. 

By 11:19 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen 1.42% (over 600 points), while the S&P 500 declined 0.86% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.94%. 

Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude surged more than 5% to above $74 per barrel, with Brent holding near $78. Investors also awaited the Federal Reserve's June meeting minutes for further guidance on the interest rate outlook.

Top Movers: Under $10 

Edible Garden AG Inc (EDBL) is up 42.53% today to trade at the current level of $0.12. This comes after the company announced that it has hired E2 Building Group to build its planned Prairie Hills RTD facility in Webster City, Iowa.

Linkhome Holdings Inc (LHAI) zoomed 18.99% in today’s trade to $1.53 after announcing that its Board approved a strategic expansion into AI infrastructure, GPU cloud services, AI data centers, and enterprise AI solutions.

In current trading, Baiya International Group Inc (BIYA) stock is at $0.52 after announcing reverse split record date.

iOThree Ltd (IOTR) rose 28.83% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $3.25 after reporting FY2026 results with revenue up 40% to US$14.7 million.

In the current trading session, Catheter Precision Inc (VTAK) jumped 84.51% to $1.32 over a previous close of $0.71 after its subsidiary Fly Flyte, Inc. announced a strategic partnership with LifeVac.

Wall Street's New Shopping List - 10 Names to Watch

Our analysts just went through every sector, chart, and earnings trend to find the 10 stocks most likely to dominate the rest of this year - and they compiled them all in the Top 10 Best Stocks to Own in the Second Half of 2026. In this free report, you'll discover companies primed for a Fed-fueled rally - from AI powerhouses to dividend machines. These names are already attracting billions in institutional inflows, so this is your chance to position early.

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Ex-Dividend Stocks

CVB Financial Corp (CVBF) 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 $0.2 per share. It has fixed July 09 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on July 23. Last year, the company distributed a total of $0.80 to its shareholders. Based on last year's worth of payments, CVBF has a trailing yield of 3.54% on the current stock price of $22.58.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Intuit Inc (INTU), having a market capitalization of $76.91B. It will pay a dividend of $1.2 per share, the payment date of which is July 17. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 1.65%.

Shares of Riverview Bancorp Inc (RVSB) 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 $0.02 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.08 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that RVSB has a trailing yield of 1.50% on the current share price of $5.33.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc (FMAO) is also set to go ex-dividend Friday. The next dividend payment from FMAO will amount to $0.23 per share. July 10 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for July 20. In the previous year, FMAO distributed a total of $0.91 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for FMAO stands at 3.00% based on the current stock price of $30.3.

Morningstar Inc (MORN) will be paying out a dividend of $0.23 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of business hours on the record date of June 10. Over the past 12 months, MORN has paid out a total of $0.92 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, MORN boasts an impressive trailing yield of 1.2% on the current share price of $170.96.

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Crypto Market Highlights

• Swyftx plans to expand into the crypto payments sector after securing a license from Australia's market regulator.

• Vanguard is hiring a Head of Digital Assets to drive its strategy for tokenization, stablecoins, blockchain infrastructure, and digital asset products.

• Kraken parent Payward has won a $22 million arbitration award against former auditor Mazars USA and is seeking court enforcement of the ruling.

• Tether has invested $20 million in Mercado Bitcoin to accelerate tokenized assets, stablecoin payments, lending, and blockchain financial services across Latin America.

• EDX Markets has raised $76 million in a Series C funding round led by SBI Holdings, underscoring growing institutional investment in crypto market infrastructure.

Most Shorted Stocks

Novavax Inc (NVAX) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 27.88% 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 10.8. This represents a change of -852082 shares, which corresponds to a -1.85% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $426.77 million. The average daily volume stands at 4.75M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $1.56B.

The Replimune Group Inc with the symbol REPL currently has a short interest of 29.24%. The short interest has changed by -3069252 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 4.8. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $263.41 million. On an average day, 7.90M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $966.21M.

For the stock Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc (CBRL), the current short interest is at 27.56%. This represents a significant short interest change of -7623 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -0.13%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 2.7. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $300.68 million.

With the symbol HIMS, the stock currently has a short interest of 32.06%. The short interest change is 2,861,969 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of 4.57%. It would take approximately 3.5 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $1.97 billion. The company boasts an average daily volume of 24.97M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $8.37B.

The stock APLD has a current short interest of 28.75%. The short interest percentage has experienced a decrease of -3.63% while there was a change of -2,797,841 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 3.7. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $3.46 billion. Trading activity averages at 23.23M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $8.78B.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 57. The stock's profitability, growth, and Piotroski Score are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of performance, financial strength, 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 56. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, performance, and financial strength. The growth, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Lattice Semiconductor Corp (LSCC) has the ST Score of 56, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability and Piotroski Score but weak in stock sentiment and forecast. Performance, growth, and financial strength suggest a neutral outlook.

Zoom Communications Inc (ZM) stock has the ST Score of 56, which implies that the AI company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. However, it shows a neutral outlook in performance, growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Arista Networks Inc (ANET) currently has the ST Score of 55, 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