Investor’s Edge: AI Disruptors & Undervalued $10 Stocks

U.S. stocks declined on Wednesday as investors reacted to a hotter-than-expected January inflation report. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed headline inflation rising more than anticipated, while core prices—excluding volatile food and energy costs—climbed 0.4% from the previous month and 3.3% year-over-year, both exceeding December's figures.

As of 11:37 AM ET, the Dow was down -397.34 points, or -0.89102%, at $44196.31. The Nasdaq Composite lost -79.791 points, or -0.36781%, at $21613.73. The S&P 500 declined -37.72 points, or -0.62157%, at $6030.78. Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, 10 showed positive movement, with Utilities leading the way with a 1.86% increase.

The unexpected inflation uptick dampened expectations for interest rate cuts in 2025. By Wednesday morning, traders had scaled back their forecasts to just one rate cut for the year, down from the two cuts previously anticipated. The 10-year Treasury yield rose 11 basis points, reaching 4.64% following the report.

In after-hours trading, Reddit (RDDT) is set to release earnings amid high expectations from Wall Street, while Robinhood (HOOD) is also in focus after its stock recently hit a three-year high.

Top Movers: Under $10

Firefly Neuroscience Inc (AIFF) is up 41.19% today to trade at the current level of $11.86. This comes after the company announced its acceptance into the NVIDIA Connect program.

Lightbridge Corp (LTBR) zoomed 26.26% in today’s trade to $13.69. The company achieved a major milestone by successfully co-extruding a depleted uranium-zirconium sample with zirconium alloy cladding at Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

In current trading, Upstart Holdings Inc (UPST) stock is at $87.20 after the company easily beat quarterly earnings estimates and issued upbeat guidance.

Confluent Inc (CFLT) rose 21.21% in the early hours of today's trading to move at $36.48 after announcing that it has signed a strategic partnership with Jio Platforms Limited for Jio Cloud Services.

In the current trading session, CVS Health Corp (CVS) jumped 14.15% to $62.78 over a previous close of $55.00 after announcing operating results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024.

Ex-Dividends Stocks

Donaldson Co. Inc (DCI) 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 $0.27 per share. It has fixed February 13 as the record date for the same and will pay the actual dividend on February 28. Last year, the company distributed a total of $1.06 to its shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, DCI has a trailing yield of 1.52% on the current stock price of $69.68.

Shares of HomeTrust Bancshares Inc (HTBI) 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 $0.12 per share, and in the last 12 months, it paid a total of $0.45 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that HTBI has a trailing yield of 1.22% on the current share price of $36.90.

Tomorrow, PennyMac Financial Services Inc (PFSI) is also set to go ex-dividend tomorrow. The next dividend payment from PFSI will amount to $0.3 per share. February 13 has been designated as the record date for this dividend, with the actual payout scheduled for February 23. In the previous year, PFSI distributed a total of $1.00 to its valued shareholders. Considering the cumulative dividend payments from last year, the trailing yield for PFSI stands at 1.01% based on the current stock price of $99.25.

Resmed Inc (RMD) will be paying out a dividend of $0.53 per share to shareholders holding their shares as of the close of the business hours on the record date of February 13. Over the past 12 months, RMD has paid out a total of $2.02 per share in dividends. Based on the total dividends paid out last year, RMD boasts an impressive trailing yield of 0.85% on the current share price of $236.26.

Crypto Market Highlights

• Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market dropped on Feb. 12 due to higher-than-expected US inflation, raising concerns about macroeconomic pressures on digital assets.

• US President Donald Trump’s blockchain platform launched a strategic reserve fund to support the growth of major cryptocurrencies.

• Austrian cryptocurrency platform Bitpanda expands in the UK after receiving regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), allowing it to offer over 500 crypto assets.

• An AI engineer resigned from Elon Musk's xAI after refusing to delete a social media post ranking AI models, including xAI’s Grok 3.

• The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requested an appeals court to dismiss a crypto founder’s plea to quash summonses it filed against him, claiming improper notification.

Most Shorted Stocks

The B. Riley Financial Inc with the symbol RILY currently has a short interest of 54.98%. The short interest has changed by -1210000 shares. The days to cover ratio stands at 10.1. The estimated value of the shares held short is approximately $36.33 million. On an average day, 850.37K shares are traded, with the company's market capitalization totaling $128.86M.

For the stock Beyond Meat Inc (BYND), the current short interest is at 51.48%. This represents a significant short interest change of -2640000 shares, corresponding to a short interest percentage decrease of -7.80%%. The days needed to cover the short positions amount to 8.5. The approximate worth of the shares held short is $112.91 million.

With the symbol NUWE, the stock currently has a short interest of 49.83%. The short interest change is 225500 shares, compared with a short interest percentage change of +67.80%%. It would take approximately 0.6 days to cover all the short positions. The shares short value is estimated to be around $38.36 million. The company boasts an average daily volume of 676.68K shares, contributing to a market capitalization of $5.36M.

The stock DRMA has a current short interest of 47.50%. The short interest percentage has experienced an increase of +112.88%% while there was a change of 156000 shares in short interest. The ratio indicating the time required to cover short positions is 0.6. The calculated worth of the shorted shares amounts to around $0.59 million. Trading activity averages at 483.34K shares per day, while the company's market capitalization stands at $5.68M.

AI Stocks to Watch

According to our ST Score evaluation, Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR) emerges as a high-quality stock in the AI industry, attaining an impressive score of 62. The stock's profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score are strong. Additionally, it is neutral in terms of growth, stock sentiment, and forecast.

Our ST Score also classifies Zoom Communications Inc (ZM) as a high-quality AI stock today, presenting a Score of 60. 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, EPAM Systems Inc (EPAM) has the ST Score of 59, which means that the stock carries the potential for higher returns. The stock is strong in profitability, performance, financial strength, and Piotroski Score but weak in growth. Stock sentiment and forecast suggest a neutral outlook.

Meta Platforms Inc (META) 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, but its weaknesses are in its growth. However, it shows a neutral outlook in stock sentiment, and forecast.

Vertiv Holdings Co (VRT) currently has the ST Score of 57, which signifies a huge upward potential. The strong points of AI stock are its profitability, performance, and Piotroski Score, while its weak points are its financial strength. The stock's growth, 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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