📊 Weekend Brief: 3 Market Twists, 5 Rocket Stocks, & 5 Must-Know Dividends

U.S. stocks ended a pivotal week with a split performance, highlighting a major rotation in investor sentiment.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1%, weighed down by AI valuation fears after disappointing guidance from key players like Broadcom.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average held onto gains, supported by a shift into cyclical value stocks. This move was fueled by the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate cut and rising optimism for U.S. economic growth, which also propelled gold to a fresh record.

As investors closed the week weighing the implications of the Fed's policy shift, the S&P 500 and Dow remained positioned for weekly advances, while the Nasdaq headed for a slight decline.

Top Movers: Under $10 

Zedge Inc (ZDGE) is up 70.52% today to trade at the current level of $4.14. This comes after the company announced results for its first quarter of fiscal 2026, which ended October 31, 2025.

Katapult Holdings Inc (KPLT) zoomed 34.09% in today’s trade to $8.32 after reporting that it has agreed to merge with Aaron’s and CCF Holdings in an all-stock deal.

In current trading, SNDL Inc (SNDL) stock is at $2.13 following reports of a potential Trump administration policy shift on cannabis classification."

Jiuzi Holdings Inc (JZXN) rose 20.07% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $6.76 after announcing that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with several institutional investors to increase its private placement financing size to up to US$1 billion.

In the current trading session, ECD Automotive Design Inc (ECDA) jumped 12.25% to $0.33 over a previous close of $0.29 after announcing agreement to increase factory utilization and drive fixed-cost absorption.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

Ares Capital Corp (ARCC) 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 $0.48 per share. It has fixed December 15 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on December 30. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.92 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, ARCC has a trailing yield of 9.16% on the current stock price of $20.96.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends on Monday is Dominos Pizza Inc (DPZ), having a market capitalization of $14.71B. It will pay a dividend of $1.74 per share, the payment date of which is December 26. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 1.55%.

Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc (GILD) 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 $0.79 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $3.14 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that GILD has a trailing yield of 2.56% on the current share price of $122.85.

Meta Platforms Inc (META) is also set to go ex-dividend on Monday. The next dividend payment from META will amount to $0.53 per share. December 15 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for December 23. In the previous year, META distributed a total of $2.08 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for META stands at 0.32% based on the current stock price of $646.39.

Regency Centers Corporation (REG) will be paying out a dividend of $0.76 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of business hours on the record date of December 15. Over the past 12 months, REG has paid out a total of $2.82 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, REG boasts an impressive trailing yield of 4.14% on the current share price of $68.05.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Ripple Payments integrates its stablecoin payment rails with FINMA-regulated Swiss crypto bank Amina.

• Pakistan allows Binance and HTX to register local subsidiaries as it advances a phased crypto framework.

• UK cross-party parliamentarians urge the Chancellor to curb the Bank of England’s proposed rules for systemic stablecoins.

• Phantom wallet partners with regulated prediction market Kalshi, integrating event-based trading into its onchain interface.

• Binance's API update signals the exchange's preparation to introduce stock trading capabilities.

Most Shorted Stocks

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc (CBRL) was one of the most shorted stocks as of the latest short interest figures, with 21.32% 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 3.4. This represents a change of -676904 shares, which corresponds to a -12.63% decrease in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $131.92 million. The average daily volume stands at 1.69M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $629.11M.

The Cambium Networks Corp with the symbol CMBM currently has a short interest of 21.37%. The short interest has changed by -313528 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 1.5. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $4.82 million. On an average day, 16.04M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $52.81M.

For the stock New Fortress Energy Inc (NFE), the current short interest is at 31.98%. This represents a significant short interest change of -5375939 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -7.72%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 3.8. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $88.65 million.

With the symbol TMDX, the stock currently has a short interest of 21.59%. The short interest change is -681463 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -9.04%. It would take approximately 8.7 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $8.09 billion. The company boasts an average daily volume of 918.39K shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $4.31B.

The stock ADTX has a current short interest of 22.53%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of 934.51% while there was a change of 113777 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 0.0. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $15.44 million. Trading activity averages at 697.08K shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $1.26M.

Energy Stock to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Par Pacific Holdings Inc (PARR) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Energy industry, attaining an impressive score of 69. The stock's profitability, performance, growth, financial strength, and Piotroski Score are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of stock sentiment and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Sandridge Energy Inc (SD) as a high-quality Energy stock today, presenting a Score of 69. 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, Brookfield Infrastructure Corp (BIPC) has the ST Score of 63, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in performance, growth, and the Piotroski Score. Profitability, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecasts suggest a neutral outlook.

HF Sinclair Corp (DINO) stock has the ST Score of 63, which implies that the Energy company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, growth, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. However, it shows neutral outlook in performance, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Navigator Holdings Ltd (NVGS) currently has the ST Score of 64, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Energy stock's strong points are its performance, growth, financial strength, and Piotroski Score. The stock's profitability, 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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