4 Biotech Penny Stocks To Watch Right Now
No matter how you slice it, COVID-19 has helped certain penny stocks just as much as it’s hurt small-cap companies. While things like travel and physical retail were hit hard, other things like digital tech and biotechnology/health care have flourished. The tech conversation may seem a bit more obvious due to social distancing causing people to use the internet more. However, biotech has more moving parts. Earlier in the year, the obvious favor was with companies developing a COVID vaccine candidate. You couldn’t go a day without some biotech reporting a new “coronavirus vaccine”. But as time went on and more traders became “immune” (no pun intended) to these headlines, something else was happening.
They gained exposure to this industry as a whole. These new traders saw that speculation was higher for biotech stocks than many others. The simple fact is that these companies work to develop cutting-edge treatments for unmet medical needs. That has quickly become the center point of focus. These companies and their treatment pipelines might take years to develop. But the long road ahead creates plenty of speculative action. Pair this with the wild world of penny stocks and you’ve got one of the most volatile sections of the stock market today.
[Read More] 4 Hot Penny Stocks To Watch Right Now If You Like Tech & Biotech Stocks
So what does this mean for traders this week? Well, the same thing it means every week. What are the best biotech stocks to watch right now? Some traders look for chart patterns while others focus on more near-term catalysts. These usually come in the form of news headlines and corporate filings. With this in mind, let’s take a look at 5 biotech penny stocks to watch early this week.
Biotech Penny Stocks To Watch #1: Havn Life Sciences
Havn Life Sciences (HAVLF Stock Report) has been on our list of penny stocks to watch for weeks now. The boom in psychedelic stocks a/k/a magic mushroom stocks has become undeniably evident. What initially began as a fringe idea for some has now bloomed into a viable industry focused on neurological treatments. In this light, we’re seeing things like psilocybin production and research. We’re also seeing exploratory advancements in other psychedelics like LSD, MDMA, and ketamine.
When it comes to Havn, psilocybin is the core focus right now in addition to using non-psychoactive mushrooms as nutraceuticals. Executive Chairman, Vic Neufeld and Havn’s leadership team have long-standing track records in areas of both “alternative biotech” and in nutraceutical development. Neufeld was most recently credited with building the juggernaut cannabis company, Aphria during its early days in the public market between 2014 and 2019. Under his leadership, the company flourished into one of the leading cannabis brands.
Prior to that, he’d been integral in building Jamieson Laboratories, one of Canada’s largest manufacturers and distributors of nutraceuticals. Neufeld led the company from $20 million in annual sales to over $250 million. He also expanded Jamieson’s distribution network to over 40 countries. He now brings this expertise to HAVLF but he’s not alone. The company has cherry-picked key talent and placed them in the proper roles as the company begins its growth phase.
Heading into 2021, something to watch closely is the company’s launch of the first 7 natural health products in the Canadian market in 2021 after gaining approval from Health Canada. Furthermore, the company’s partnerships with key mental health organizations has given it a leg up in the early phases of R&D for the industry as a whole. Read more on HAVLF stock here.
Biotech Penny Stocks to Watch #2: AIM ImmunoTech
Shares of AIM ImmunoTech (AIM Stock Report) continued a 3-day climb on Monday morning. We discussed this company at the end of the week last week following a surge of interest in COVID-related stocks. The company’s lead treatment, Ampligen has been tweaked for treating patients with cancer and mild-to-moderate COVID-19. While that has become an interesting point of speculative trading, Ampligen itself was previously established as a cancer therapy candidate on its own.
This week, the company demonstrated the diverse nature of the treatment platform. AIM announced that the FDA granted Orphan Drug Designation status to Ampligen (rintatolimod) for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. This also follows the recent news that there were “statistically significant positive pancreatic cancer survival results from a multi-year Early Access Program” with “survival approximately two-fold higher in the Ampligen arm compared to a historical control cohort”.
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“This study data demonstrates that Ampligen has the potential to extend the survival rates of people suffering with pancreatic cancer significantly when compared to the traditional standard of care for this deadly disease,” said AIM CEO Thomas K. Equels. With that, AIM stock remains one to watch at the beginning of the week. Read more on AIM stock here.
Biotech Penny Stocks To Watch: Clovis Oncology
Another one of the cancer penny stocks to watch this week could also be Clovis Oncology (CLVS Stock Report). The company’s stock saw a nice pop on Friday trading more than 10.4 million shares, which marked its highest volume day since the first week of December. While shares have been consolidating for most of the month, recent progress in the company’s ovarian cancer treatment could be notable right now.
In fact, this week the company reported that its Rubraca met the primary endpoint of significantly improging progression-free survival in its ARIEL4 Phase 3 study. This study was compared Rubraca to Chemotherapy in later-line ovarian cancer patients.
“The ARIEL4 study verified that women with relapsed, BRCA mutation-positive advanced ovarian cancer, including those who are platinum-sensitive or -resistant, received benefit with rucaparib treatment when compared to chemotherapy.”
Dr. Amit Oza, Head of the Division of Medical Oncology & Hematology, Medical Director of the Cancer Clinical Research Unit at Princess Margaret (PM) Cancer Centre, co-Director of the Drug Development Program at PM Cancer Centre, Senior Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and Professor of Medicine at University of Toronto.
Heading into next year, Rubraca will likely be a core point of interest. Clovis plans to provide an expanded description of the ARIEL4 results at a medical meeting in 2021. Read more on CLVS stock here.
Biotech Penny Stocks To Watch: Onconova Therapeutics
Onconova Therapeutics (ONTX Stock Report) is another one of the biotech penny stocks to watch today. It’s actually been one to watch for most of December. Monday ONTX stock continued its climb thanks to an early news catalyst involving the FDA. The Administration gave the company permission to proceed with its Phase 1 study for its ON123300 treatment. You might remember us discussing last week that the company filed its Investigational New Drug Application in November and was waiting for a response from the FDA.
“We are advancing the process to secure Institutional Review Board approval, and affirm our expectation that the first patient will be enrolled during the first half of 2021.”
Steven Fruchtman, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Onconova.
The company’s goal with this US trial is to complement the ongoing Phase 1 dose-escalation study underway in China by its partner HanX Biopharmaceuticals. Furthermore, some insider buying has also struck a chord with traders. SVP of Corporate Development & General Counsel, Abraham Oler purchased 30,000 shares at an average price of $0.32 on December 11th. This complemented a string of insider buying toward the end of November. Read more on ONTX stock here.
