10 Hottest Stocks From October 8, 2018

This list of stocks was generated by tracking the most-popular ticker searches on the Benzinga Pro real-time news platform.

Readers can rely on this daily list to offer insight into which stocks retail investors are most interested in during a given trading session. In addition to providing the list itself, this article offers a quick glimpse into why a certain stock may be trending.

1. Shares of biotechnology company Altimmune ALT fell over 30 percent to $4.94 after the company announced a $25 million registered direct offering.
2. China Lending Corp. CLDC shares surged 61 percent to $1.29 after reporting a partnership with Zhejiang Lixin Holding that will allow the company to expand its product portfolio and increase its market share in supply-chain financing.
3. Shares of India Globalization Capital, Inc. IGC rose 64 percent to $6.74 after announcing a line of CBD-infused drinks. The stock has surged more than 500 percent in the past month.
4. Oil giant Petrobras PBR rose 10.6 percent to $15.38 in light of Jair Bolsonaro’s first round victory in Brazil’s presidential election. Bolsonaro is advocating for less government interference in state companies.
5. Shares of New Age Beverages Corp. NBEV dropped 12.69 percent to $7.36 after a rise in shares in light of a CBD beverage line announcement. New Age Beverages falls into the volatility category of several companies selling weed-related products.
6. Tobacco supplier Pyxus International, Inc. PYX soared 36.6 percent to $38.52. Citron Research expressed optimism in the stock, saying Pyxus has “real management” and will perform well “as long as investors are cannabis crazy.”
7. Square, Inc. SQ fell 8.56 percent to $86.05 due to negative news items. The company’s recent announcement of allowing merchants to offer installment financing to customers was not well-received and the company has since experienced negative analyst positioning.
8. Shares of Tesla, Inc. TSLA fell 4.35 percent to $250.56 amid comments from David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital, comparing Tesla to the demise of the Lehman Brothers.
9. General Electric Co. GE rose 3.1 percent to $13.60 after the company sold $1 billion in equity investments to Apollo Global Management and Barclays upgraded the stock.
10. Shares of biofuels company Gevo, Inc. GEVO surged 12.53 percent to $4.40 as the company continues to leverage new production capabilities.