🔥 Under $10, Over the Moon! Top Penny Stocks You Missed Today 🚀

U.S. stocks dipped slightly on Wednesday following a government shutdown, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq down 0.1% and the Dow nearly flat. The shutdown resulted from the Senate's failure to pass a temporary funding bill, as Democrats pushed to include health care tax credit extensions.

This shutdown carries heightened risks due to broader economic concerns like slowing job growth, inflation, and elevated stock valuations. About 750,000 federal workers are expected to be furloughed, with added uncertainty from former President Trump’s threat of permanent firings.

Markets are closely watching how long the shutdown lasts, as it could delay key economic data needed for the Federal Reserve’s October meeting. The Labor Department has already suspended most operations, cancelling the September jobs report.

In its place, ADP reported a weaker-than-expected drop in private payrolls, fueling expectations of a Fed rate cut. Bank and tech stocks fell amid rising recession fears and investor caution.

Top Movers: Under $10 

Chijet Motor Company Inc (CJET) is up 109.93% today to trade at the current level of $0.34. This comes after the company announced that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with certain institutional investors for an expanded private placement offering of up to $1 billion.

Palisade Bio Inc (PALI) zoomed 58.37% in today’s trade to $1.36 after announcing an underwritten public offering of 171.4 million shares at $0.70 per share.

In current trading, Akanda Corp (AKAN) stock is at $6.8 after announcing a major expansion of its telecom infrastructure project in Mexico under the Red Compartida initiative through its subsidiary, First Towers & Fiber Corp.

Lithium Americas Corp (NewCo) (LAC) rose 19.85% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $6.84. The company and its joint venture partner, General Motors, have reached a non-binding agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy to access the first $435 million from a $2.26 billion loan for the Thacker Pass lithium project.

In the current trading session, Bitcoin Depot Inc (BTM) jumped 16.93% to $3.93 over a previous close of $3.36 after reporting strong preliminary third quarter 2025 financial results.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

Campbells Co (CPB) 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 $0.39 per share. It has fixed October 02 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on November 03. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.54 to its shareholders. Based on last year's payments, CPB has a trailing yield of 4.87%, and the current stock price is $31.65.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Cisco Systems, Inc (CSCO), having a market capitalization of $269.25B. It will pay a dividend of $0.41 per share, the payment date of October 22. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 2.38%.

Shares of Horizon Bancorp Inc (IN) (HBNC) 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 $0.16 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.64 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that HBNC has a trailing yield of 4.04% on the current share price of $15.86.

Morningstar Inc (MORN) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from MORN will amount to $0.46 per share. October 03 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for October 31. In the previous year, MORN distributed a total of $1.77 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for MORN stands at 0.77% based on the current stock price of $229.34.

Match Group Inc (MTCH) will be paying out a dividend of $0.19 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of business hours on the record date of October 03. Over the past 12 months, MTCH has paid out a total of $0.57 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, MTCH boasts an impressive trailing yield of 1.63% on the current share price of $34.97.

Crypto Market Highlights

• BoE Governor Andrew Bailey suggested that stablecoins could lessen the UK's dependence on commercial banks, indicating a more open stance on digital assets.

• US Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on crypto taxation on Wednesday, following new IRS guidance easing corporate crypto tax rules.

• Jeffrey Huang (aka “Machi Big Brother”) is facing a nearly $9 million floating loss on his Hyperliquid trading account.

• Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, has asked a US judge to dismiss charges against him, arguing lack of evidence of intent to aid illicit activity.

• CoinShares, a European crypto asset manager, is planning another strategic acquisition ahead of its upcoming U.S. public listing.

Most Shorted Stocks

Indaptus Therapeutics Inc (INDP) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 54.73% 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 4.7. This represents a change of 532200 shares, which corresponds to a +3,524.50% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $1.63 million. The average daily volume stands at 361.59K shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $3.30M.

The Beyond Meat Inc with the symbol BYND currently has a short interest of 40.78%. The short interest has changed by 140000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 12.5. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $70.33 million. On an average day, 3.71M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $172.12M.

For the stock AnaptysBio Inc (ANAB), the current short interest is at 36.77%. This represents a significant short interest change of -290000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -2.99%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 18.4. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $301.31 million.

With the symbol SONN, the stock currently has a short interest of 34.15%. The short interest change is 370000 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +19.79%. It would take approximately 0.5 days to cover all the short positions. The shares' short value is estimated to be around $46.77 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 4.42M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $33.93M.

The stock WOLF has a current short interest of 32.64%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of +16.32% while there was a change of 7090000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 0.9. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $56.92 million. Trading activity averages at 1.60M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $656.51M.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Tower Semiconductor Ltd (TSEM) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 67. The stock's profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score are strong. However, its growth is weak. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of stock sentiment and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Zoom Communications Inc (ZM) 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, Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR) 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, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. Stock sentiment and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Arista Networks Inc (ANET) 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 neutral outlook in growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Seagate Technology Holdings Plc (STX) currently has the ST Score of 57, which signifies a huge upward potential. The AI stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its growth. The stock's 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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