Biotech Penny Stocks to Watch In November 2020
Biotech penny stocks have been making some big headway in the market in the past six months. Following the advent of Covid, many investors began to hedge bets on biotech stocks for the future. While some stocks that are dealing with Covid are major frontrunners, it seems as though there is a lot of bullish interest in the biotech space in general. Plenty of these stocks show a lot of potential and investors should be aware of a few key factors.
For one, biotech penny stocks tend to rise and fall quite quickly in value. This is because they are dependent on regulatory bodies like the FDA to gain approval for certain pharmaceuticals or substances. This approval can take months or even years to see through. But, if they are given approval, it can be big news for both investors and the company itself. If we look at 2020, we see that biotechs took a big dive alongside the whole stock market back in March. But, since then, many companies have been able to get back on track in a big way.
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While not all biotech companies are working on Covid, the ones that are have received massive influxes of capital from the federal government in the U.S. This capital came in the form of Operation Warp Speed, which has the goal of producing a vaccine as soon as possible. Because most biotech stocks are correlated with one another, investors should always be staying up to date on what is going on in the larger biotech space. With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at a few biotech penny stocks to round out the week.
Biotech Penny Stocks to Watch:
- GT Biopharma Inc. (GTBP Stock Report)
- Verastem Inc. (VSTM Stock Report)
- Sesen Bio Inc. (SESN Stock Report)
- Agenus Inc. (AGEN Stock Report)
- Dynavax Technologies (DVAX Stock Report)
Biotech Penny Stocks To Watch #1: GT Biopharma Inc.
GT Biopharma Inc. is one of the “non-Covid” biotech penny stocks to watch. There’ve been several key catalysts to note during the past few months. There are also updates that I’m sure some traders are anxious to see. The forefront of these is the upcoming American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting (ASH). The company’s lead treatment for acute myeloid leukemia, GTB-3550, was chosen for presentation at the ASH meeting.
“GTB-3550 TriKE™ for the Treatment of High-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) and Refractory/Relapsed Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Safely Drives Natural Killer (NK) Cell Proliferation At Initial Dose Cohorts,” is the title of the abstract set for presentation. If you’re unfamiliar with the magnitude of the meeting, ASH is the world’s largest professional society serving both clinicians and scientists around the world who are working to conquer blood diseases.
GTB-3550 recently presented favorable results in an interim Dose Level 3 update in September. The treated patient saw a decrease in AML blast levels in bone marrow. There was also an improvement in marrow cellularity. The importance here is that this part of the trial is focused on 6 different dose levels. Considering Dose Level 3 was well tolerated, the company seems confident in its current approach. In the meantime, there’ve been several other initiative to expand GT’s novel TriKE treatment platform to address other cancers too. For more information on GT Biopharma & TriKE, click here.
Biotech Penny Stocks to Watch #2: Verastem Inc.
Verastem Inc. is a development-stage biopharmaceutical company working on several new and groundbreaking drugs. These drugs are used to treat those suffering from different types of cancers. The company states that its drug pipeline is heavily focused on new “small molecule” drugs that stop tumor growth and slow cancer cell survival.
Although 2020 has not been a great year for VSTM stock overall, it has shown some renewed potential in the past month. YTD, VSTM stock is down by around 4% which is not bad considering the plunge that the biotech sector saw in March. On November 5th, shares of VSTM bounced up by a solid 3.2% during intraday trading.
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While its performance may not be anything to write home about, the company has been working on several new business developments. At the end of September, it announced that it completed the sale of its drug, COPIKTRA (duvelisib). This is an FDA approved substance used to treat cancer.
Verastem stated that it received $70 million in cash from Secura Bio and could receive up to $311 million if sales milestones are achieved. Brian Stuglik, CEO of Verastem stated that “this transaction delvers clear benefits for both Verastem Oncology and Secura Bio.”
With a wide breadth of drugs in its pipeline, investors can decide whether or not VSTM is a biotech stock to watch.
Biotech Penny Stocks to Watch #3: Sesen Bio Inc.
As far as late-stage clinical biotech companies go, Sesen Bio Inc. has a lot going for it. The company has been working on several fusion-protein therapeutics to treat different types of cancer. Similar to Verastem, Sesen Bio has several drugs in its pipeline that could yield promising results. The company recently announced that its third-quarter results will be available on November 9th of this year.
With this announcement, the company could show some exciting results for its flagship drug, Vicineum. Vicineum is a locally administered fusion protein that can be used to treat those suffering from late-stage bladder cancers. Sesen Bio has stated that it is currently in the midst of its Phase 3 trials for this drug which will evaluate how efficacious it is in treating this type of cancer.
The company has stated that Vicineum is showing potential to boost an anti-tumor response in the body. If it is able to do so, the drug could be combined with other cancer treatments to yield more favorable results. Recently, the company stated that its drug is being studied by the U.S. National Cancer Institute for its use with AstraZeneca’s drug durvalumab. While this does seem to be a niche area of the biotech industry, cancer treatment has remained extremely important. If it is able to receive approval for this drug, Sesen Bio could show some promising momentum. However, investors should continue to watch the company for updates to see if it is right for their portfolio.
Biotech Penny Stocks to Watch #4: Agenus Inc.
Agenus Inc. is another biotech stock that saw some bullish momentum on November 5th. During intraday trading, shares of AGEN stock shot up by around 3.2%. Thursday proved to be yet another gain of solid bullish momentum for the company. On Monday, November 2nd, shares of AGEN stock shot up by around 10% during intraday trading as well. So, why the big bullish interest in the company?
Well, recently, it stated that it offered the first dose of afenT-797 to a Covid-positive patient. This clinical trial will help to show whether or not the drug can be used in those with moderate or severe cases of Covid. In addition to working on a Covid treatment, the company states that it has received approval from the FDA to see whether or not the same drug could be used to treat cancer patients.
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While this may seem like another Covid biotech stock, investors should also note that the competition is still ongoing. This means that there is plenty of room for newcomers to try their hand at solving Covid-related symptoms. The company has stated that the clinical data from its most recent study could be available as soon as mid-2021. In addition, it has stated that it could run a phase 2 trial that would allow it to apply for Emergency Use Authorization with the FDA. While these types of things do take time, AGEN stock could be worth watching for its progress in this regard.
Biotech Penny Stocks To Watch #5: Dynavax Technologies
Dynavax Technologies has been one of the biotech penny stocks we’ve followed closely over the last few months. One of the “iffy” parts going into this week was Dynavax’s upcoming earnings. Well, those were revealed on Thursday along with a slew of other small cap stocks.
“We have entered into numerous collaborations to develop adjuvanted vaccines across multiple indications, including COVID-19, TdaP, and universal flu. This portfolio of CpG 1018 opportunities is driving the next leg of growth beyond HEPLISAV-B, as initially seen with our commercial supply agreement with Valneva, where we have the potential for 2021 CpG 1018 revenue between approximately $130 and $230 million.”
Ryan Spencer , Chief Executive Officer of Dynavax
Of note, Dynavax was able to beat on both earnings per share and sales. The company reported an EPS loss of 15 cents while expectations pegged it at a $0.20 loss. Furthermore, sales figures beat estimates by 42%, coming in at $13.41 million for the quarter.
Pursuant to an agreement between Midam Ventures LLC and GT Biopharma (GTBP), GT Biopharma is required to pay $200,000 per month for 4 months of services, $400,000 of which has already been paid for 2 months of services (first and last month) for a period from September 22, 2020 to January 22, 2021. We may buy or sell additional shares of GT Biopharma (GTBP) in the open market at any time, including before, during or after the Website and Information, to provide public dissemination of favorable Information about GT Biopharma (GTBP).
