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U.S. stocks were mixed on Friday as investors weighed concerns over AI trade financing and shifted their focus to next week’s earnings reports. 

As of 11:40 a.m. ET, the Nasdaq 100 fell 1.1%, while the S&P 500 declined 0.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%. 

Despite Thursday’s gains across all three major indexes, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were on track for weekly losses following a semiconductor sell-off earlier in the week. 

The Dow, however, was poised to gain approximately 1% for the week, as semiconductor stocks edged lower amid continued volatility in the AI-driven sector.

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

Home furniture brand Blu Dot blew up on CTV with help from Roku Ads Manager. Here’s how:

After a test campaign reached 211,000 households and achieved 1,010% ROAS, the brand went all in to promote its annual sales event. It removed age and income constraints to expand reach and shifted budget to custom audiences and retargeting, where intent was strongest.

The results speak for themselves. As Blu Dot increased their investment by 10x, ROAS jumped to 2,308% and more page-view conversions surpassed 50,000.

“For CTV campaigns, Roku has been a top performer,” said Claire Folkestad, Paid Media Strategist, Blu Dot. “Comping to our other platforms, we have seen really strong ROAS… and highly efficient CPMs, lower than any other CTV partner we've worked with.”

Using Roku Ads Manager, the campaign moved from a pilot to a permanent performance engine for the brand.

Learn More

Top Movers: Under $10 

Zenta Group Co Ltd (ZTG) is up 23.68% today to trade at the current level of $0.77. This follows the company's announcement that its subsidiary, ZentoAI Intelligent Technology Company Limited, signed a binding MOU to acquire a controlling stake in a privately held digital technology service provider in mainland China.

SITE Centers Corp (SITC) zoomed 15.78% in today’s trade to $3.48 after announcing the sale of DTP interests and a special common distribution.

In current trading, Origin Agritech Ltd (SEED) stock is at $0.86 after announcing that its wholly owned subsidiary, Guizhou Origin Biotechnology Co., Ltd., launched a stress-tolerant corn breeding project running from September 2026 to August 2029.

FF EAI Robotics Ecosystem Inc (FFR) rose 6.51% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $1.13 after launching a $2,490 Humanoid Robot and agreeing to a $200 million acquisition of Faraday Future Robotics Assets.

In the current trading session, Exascale Labs Holdings Inc (XLAB) jumped 105.88% to $2.80 over a previous close of $1.36 following Sunon’s $8.2 million NVIDIA GPU deal, boosting investor optimism around AI infrastructure demand.

Ex-Dividend Stocks

First United Corp (FUNC) 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 $0.28 per share. It has set October 19 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on November 02. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.04 to its shareholders. Based on last year's worth of payments, FUNC has a trailing yield of 2.35% on the current stock price of $44.22.

Another stock that is shelling out dividends on Monday is RMR Group Inc (RMR), having a market capitalization of $606.32M. It will pay a dividend of $0.45 per share, the payment date of which is November 12. Currently, the stock is trading at a trailing dividend yield of 9.52%.

Shares of Seven Hills Realty Trust (SEVN) 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 $0.28 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $1.12 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that SEVN has a trailing yield of 16.10% on the current share price of $6.93.

WD-40 Co (WDFC) is also set to go ex-dividend on Monday. The next dividend payment from WDFC will amount to $1.02 per share. October 19 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for October 30. In the previous year, WDFC distributed a total of $4.00 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for WDFC stands at 1.99% based on the current stock price of $200.95.

Apogee Enterprises Inc (APOG) will be paying out a dividend of $0.27 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of October 20. Over the past 12 months, APOG has paid out a total of $1.07 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, APOG boasts an impressive trailing yield of 2.58% on the current share price of $41.53.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Michael Saylor’s Strategy, the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, announced daily dividends for its STRC preferred stock in November, subject to shareholder approval and related amendments taking effect.

• Deutsche Bank reportedly plans to launch crypto custody services in Germany, with expansion into Asian financial centers targeted for 2027.

• The Solana Accelerate event in Shanghai was postponed after pre-registrations exceeded the attendance cap set by local authorities, according to Solana Foundation President Lily Liu.

• France-listed Bitcoin treasury firm Capital B reported a €69.5 million ($78 million) net loss for the first half of 2026, driven by a $75.8 million Bitcoin impairment charge.

• Australia released draft legislation to enable the automatic international exchange of cryptocurrency tax information between countries.

Most Shorted Stocks

Ramaco Resources Inc (METC) was one of the most shorted stocks as of latest short interest figures, with 45.06% 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 7.7. This represents a change of 1864228 shares, which corresponds to a 13.77% increase in short interest. The total value of the shares held short is estimated to be around $127.54 million. The average daily volume stands at 2.16M shares, and the market capitalization of the company is $479.50M.

The Enovix Corp with the symbol ENVX currently has a short interest of 27.70%. The short interest has changed by 117786 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 6.8. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $136.37 million. On an average day, 7.63M shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $562.88M.

For the stock Editas Medicine Inc (EDIT), the current short interest is at 24.94%. This represents a significant short interest change of 7145067 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage increase of 23.85%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 9.4. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $87.95 million.

With the symbol MNRO, the stock currently has a short interest of 25.61%. The short interest change is 32707 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of 0.44%. It would take approximately 6.7 days to cover all the short positions. The short interest value is estimated to be around $536.6 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 1.00M shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $452.07M.

The stock EYPT has a current short interest of 25.42%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of 4.94% while there was a change of 978679 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 5.4. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $23.03 million. Trading activity averages at 4.01M shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $262.52M.

Energy Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Valero Energy Corp (VLO) emerges as a high-quality stock in the Energy industry, attaining an impressive score of 62. 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 Seadrill Ltd (SDRL) as a high-quality Energy stock today, presenting a Score of 50. The stock has strong fundamentals in terms of profitability, financial strength, stock sentiment, Piotroski Score, and forecast. However, it has weak performance and growth.

Another stock in the category, Frontline Plc (FRO) has the ST Score of 55, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score. Growth, financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Tenaris SA ADR (TS) stock has the ST Score of 58, which implies that the Energy company has a high probability of beating the market. The stock's strengths lie in its profitability, financial strength, and Piotroski Score, but its weaknesses are in its growth. However, it shows a neutral outlook in performance, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Ormat Technologies Inc (ORA) currently has the ST Score of 60, which signifies a huge upward potential. The Energy stock's strong points are its profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its financial strength, stock sentiment, and forecast. The stock's growth indicates a neutral outlook.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading. Good luck out there!

Best Regards,

Stocks Telegraph Team