U.S. stocks edged lower on Tuesday as investors assessed bank earnings, a sell-off in chip stocks, and volatile oil prices. 

As of 11:00 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.12%, the S&P 500 declined 0.14%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.23%, reflecting continued pressure on technology shares. 

Investors looked to early earnings reports for direction, with analysts expecting S&P 500 earnings to rise nearly 30% year over year, according to FactSet. 

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi plunged 5.5%, hitting its lowest level since July 31, amid valuation concerns and intensifying Chinese competition, as CXMT announced plans for a more powerful chip by year-end.

Top Movers: Under $10 

Bio-Key International Inc (BKYI) is up 88.48% today to trade at the current level of $3.11. This comes after the company announced the appointment of Stephen Morrow as President of PortalGuard®, the Company's flagship IAM platform.

Alaunos Therapeutics Inc (TCRT) zoomed 122.86% in today’s trade to $2.34 after announcing the acquisition of Velaris Therapeutics.

In current trading, Pinnacle Food Group Ltd (PFAI) stock is at $4.23 after announcing that its wholly owned subsidiary, PFHK, completed the first bench-scale fermentation of its first-generation recombinant human lactoferrin (rhLF) yeast strain using a 5-liter fermenter.

Bumble Inc (BMBL) rose 56.45% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $5.95 after announcing that it entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Ithaca Holdings in an all-cash transaction valuing the Company at $1.3 billion.

In the current trading session, Fermi Inc (FRMI) jumped 21.23% to $3.94 over a previous close of $3.25 after announcing that it signed a credit support agreement with AMD to support Phase 1 of Fermi’s Project Matador, an AI and energy project in Carson County, Texas, with 222 MW of power capacity.

Blu Dot surpasses 2,000% ROAS with self-serve CTV ads

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“Roku has been a top performer,” said Blu Dot’s Claire Folkestad. “We have seen…CPMs lower than any other CTV partner we've worked with.”

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Ex-Dividend Stocks

Interdigital Inc (IDCC) 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 $0.75 per share. It has fixed October 14 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on October 28. Last year, the company distributed a total of $2.80 to its shareholders. Based on last year's worth of payments, IDCC has a trailing yield of 0.85% on the current stock price of $328.68.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends tomorrow is Micron Technology Inc (MU), having a market capitalization of $1071.13B. It will pay a dividend of $0.15 per share, the payment date of which is October 29. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 0.06%.

Shares of Corporacion Inmobiliaria Vesta Sab ADR (VTMX) will be the talk of the stock market on Wednesday as the stock will turn ex-dividend. The company's next dividend payment will be $0.2 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.83 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that VTMX has a trailing yield of 2.42% on the current share price of $34.3.

Barnes & Noble Education Inc (BNED) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from BNED will amount to $0.08 per share. October 14 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for October 29. In the previous year, BNED distributed a total of $0.08 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for BNED stands at 0.65% based on the current stock price of $12.27.

GFL Environmental Inc (GFL) will be paying out a dividend of $0.02 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of October 14. Over the past 12 months, GFL has paid out a total of $0.06 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, GFL boasts an impressive trailing yield of 0.15% on the current share price of $42.42.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Sberbank has secured approval to trade Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, with a launch planned for December.

• ENS is seeking DAO approval to launch its upgraded naming protocol on Ethereum mainnet.

• MediaMarktSaturn has removed Ledger wallets from its stores and online platforms amid reports of tampered devices.

• Binance will shut down its mining pool and related services in November after more than six years.

• SWI Group has raised around $900 million to expand its data center and AI computing operations, including a crypto mining business linked to FTX.

Most Shorted Stocks

T1 Energy Inc (TE) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 33.77% 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 3.8. This represents a change of 10957885 shares, which corresponds to a 16.56% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $244.54 million. The average daily volume stands at 28.31M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $949.35M.

The Jetblue Airways Corp with the symbol JBLU currently has a short interest of 26.61%. The short interest has changed by 1979264 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 5.8. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $345.82 million. On an average day, 25.84M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $1.33B.

For the stock C3.ai Inc (AI), the current short interest is at 32.35%. This represents a significant short interest change of -687391 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -1.62%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 9.6. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $488.4 million.

With the symbol WEN, the stock currently has a short interest of 30.83%. The short interest change is -109883 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of -0.23%. It would take approximately 7.7 days to cover all the short positions. The short value is estimated to be around $264.43 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 7.69M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $1.21B.

The stock UAMY has a current short interest of 26.60%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of 12.27% while there was a change of 4112396 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 7.8. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $153.48 million. Trading activity averages at 6.10M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $471.35M.

EV Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Sociedad Quimica Y Minera de Chile SA ADR (SQM) emerges as a high-quality stock in the EV industry, attaining an impressive score of 61. The stock's profitability, performance, growth, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of financial strength.

Our ST Score also classifies Magna International Inc (MGA) as a high-quality EV stock today, presenting a Score of 57. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast. However, it has weak financial strength. The performance and growth are neutral.

Another stock in the category, Enersys (ENS) has the ST Score of 63, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, growth, and Piotroski Score. Financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) stock has the ST Score of 47, which implies that the EV company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its performance and growth. However, it shows a neutral outlook in financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast.

ST Microelectronics (STM) currently has the ST Score of 49, which signifies a huge upward potential. The EV stock's strong points are its growth and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its performance and financial strength. 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