Top Stock Movers Oct 22, 2026: Why XLAB, STAK, TROO Surged

XLAB — Exascale Labs Holdings Inc. (+76.1%)

XLAB closed up 76.1% at $4.79 on 55.6 million shares, more than three times its 20-day average of about 16.4 million. It opened with a +17.3% gap, meaning it started the session well above the prior close.

Why is XLAB up? The most likely driver is an $8.2 million contract to sell NVIDIA GPU servers to Sunon. The company disclosed it in an 8-K filed October 15. It covers 12 NVIDIA HGX B300 servers (96 GPUs), networking gear, deployment and 36 months of IT operations services. Sources date the news to October 15–16, when the stock jumped about 72.8%. No separate October 22 announcement turned up, so today's move may be a continuation of that story. Headlines on October 22 described the rally as extending on the same deal.

On the technicals, StockSetups shows RSI at 72, ADX at 44 (a strong trend), and the stock 6.8% below its 52-week high. Conviction scored 100/100 (grade A+). The squeeze score is 59/100, with short interest of 518,598 shares and 1.0 days to cover, so a squeeze is a minor factor. Smart-money score is 24/100. Reddit mentions rose to 10 from 2 a day earlier.

After a roughly 76% day on top of an earlier surge, this name is extended. Moves like this often reverse sharply.

STAK — STAK Inc. (+75.0%)

STAK closed up 75.0% at $1.75 on 47.5 million shares, versus a 20-day average near 4.0 million. It gapped up 67.0% at the open. Market cap is only about $19.2 million.

Why is STAK up? The most likely catalyst is its fiscal 2026 earnings, released October 21. Net income was $0.4 million versus a $5.7 million loss a year earlier, and revenue rose 13.3% to $28.2 million. Benzinga reported the shares rose about 59% after hours on the results. Some outlets credited an "AI partnership," but no new partnership announcement turned up. The only AI item is a June memorandum of understanding for a 60%-owned U.S. subsidiary, still subject to definitive agreements. Headlines also described a sharp reversal after an early surge, so the day was choppy. Note that other sources list the close at a smaller gain than 75%.

Technically, RSI is 70, ADX is 42, and the moving-average stack is mixed. The stock is still 81.1% below its 52-wk high. Relative strength rating is 99, but conviction is only 47/100 (grade C). Squeeze score is 47/100, with 489,113 shares short and 0.6 days to cover. Short-volume was 71%.

This name also appeared in our premarket recap. Tiny caps with wild reversals are especially risky.

TROO — Troops, Inc. /Cayman Islands/ (+37.7%)

TROO closed up 37.7% at $2.30 on 8.5 million shares, about 14 times its 20-day average of roughly 588,000. It gapped up 6.9%.

No news, filing or announcement explains the move today. The move looks momentum- or technically-driven. Recent filings include foreign-issuer 6-Ks and several Schedule 13D activist stake filings (October 14 and September 24), which are bullish-tagged. These are not same-day catalysts, but they show investors with large holdings.

Free float is 43.5%, a low float in the sense that fewer shares trade freely, which can exaggerate moves. Short interest is 3,176,627 shares, or 8.8 days to cover (how many days of average volume short sellers would need to buy back). The squeeze score is 38/100. Smart-money score is 44/100, with four 13D/G stakes and a largest stake of 14.7%.

RSI is 68 and ADX is just 18, so no established trend. The stock sits 54.2% below its 52-wk high. Conviction is 69/100 (grade B).

VIVK — Vivakor, Inc. (+32.0%)

VIVK closed up 32.0% at $1.65 on 7.0 million shares, about three times its 20-day average of 2.3 million. Market cap is about $10.2 million.

The most likely same-day catalyst is an October 22 press release: the Texas Railroad Commission approved Vivakor's P-5 Organization Report, giving it an operator number for its Houston remediation facility. The project moved into technical review of its R-9 reclamation plant permit application. Management targets commercial operations in the first quarter of 2027, subject to the review, approvals and commissioning. However, the move itself can't be firmly tied to the release; the only quote found before the release was a premarket reading of $1.25.

The chart is weak. RSI is 22, ADX is 9, the moving-average stack is bearish, and RS rating is 1. A morning star candle (a possible bullish reversal signal) appeared. Conviction is just 24/100 (grade D). Squeeze score is 52/100, with 1,143,792 shares short and 0.6 days to cover. Recent 8-Ks on October 9 and 15 were tagged as dilution (bearish), meaning share issuance that can weigh on the price.

BKYI — BIO KEY INTERNATIONAL INC (+30.2%)

BKYI closed up 30.2% at $2.73 on 26.6 million shares, nearly twice its 20-day average of 14.4 million. It gapped up 29.0%. Market cap is about $3.0 million.

Why is BKYI up? On October 22 BIO-key announced that an unnamed Gulf-region government organization is deploying its PortalGuard enterprise platform to replace legacy authentication. The company called it its 7th new Gulf-region customer in six months. TipRanks reported the stock up as much as 38.1% intraday. Benzinga cited high short interest, but the data shows only 10,889 shares short, 0.3 days to cover and a squeeze score of 2/100, so a squeeze is not a convincing explanation.

RSI is 55 and ADX is 35. The stock is still 73.5% below its 52-wk high, with RS rating 7 and conviction of 38/100 (grade D). Recent filings include an S-1 (October 9) and an October 2 8-K tagged as dilution, which could mean more shares coming.

The bottom line

Today's biggest gainers were mostly tiny, thinly valued companies with news-driven or momentum-driven spikes. Chasing extended gainers is high-risk: big one-day moves often give back much of the gain, and chart patterns and squeezes fail often. Size positions carefully, use stops, and do your own research. This is educational content, not financial advice.

StockSetups scans the full US universe after every close and every premarket morning. For context on recent action, see our Oct 21 recap and where to place a stop loss.