Biotech Stocks Soar On Tuesday; 5 Penny Stocks To Watch Right Now
Earlier today we discussed how technology and biotechnology penny stocks have gotten a boost thanks to the pandemic. While many of the more traditional industries were hit hard, these two areas of the market have actually gained ground. Obviously, one of the main reasons favoring biotech has to do with speculation surrounding potential vaccines. We saw how much excitement was generated after Pfizer’s news. But like all treatments, companies strive to make better, more efficient, and more specialized drugs.
Some of the names on the list have exposure to the vaccine side of the story. However, several others have gained thanks to the broadening interest in biotech as a whole. What I feel has happened is new traders searched for COVID stocks early this year. But as a result, they gained exposure to the wild west of biotech. This industry is well-known for its volatility and with it, uncapped gain potential.
If you look at the two popular ETFs, Nasaq’s Biotech ETF (IBB) and the Healthcare ETF (XLV) you should notice something immediately. While the market (and healthcare) have stutter-stepped recently, biotech continues to surge. In fact, this week, the IBB reached a new record high (again). This trend has remained in play for most of December. With this in mind, it’s no wonder why so many biotech penny stocks have recorded explosive gains this month.
Penny Stocks To Watch: Havn Life Sciences
I explained above that it isn’t just about COVID penny stocks anymore. It’s also not just about traditional biotech either. This year has seen a lot of firsts. One of the more unique “firsts” is legal psychedelics. This was thanks to the 2020 US election. Needless to say, the case in favor of psychedelic medicine isn’t new. In fact, major companies like Johnson & Johnson (JNJ Stock Report) have explored this niche before. This has helped give rise to the new trend we’re seeing in magic mushroom stocks and psychedelic stocks as a whole.
Havn Life Sciences (HAVLF Stock Report) is part of this trailblazing medical industry. The company focuses on both medical and recreational uses for mushrooms. It also helps that its Executive Chairman was played an integral role in another “unicorn industry,” legal cannabis. Vic Neufeld lead Aphria from 2014 to 2019 as its CEO and growing it into the powerhouse it was during the early days of the marijuana stock boom. Now he’s focusing on the new frontier.
Much of the anticipation with Havn stems from its preparation for 2021. This morning, the company announced a product listing agreement for a range of its natural health products. These are set to be sold in select Nesters Markets in British Columbia in the first half of next year.
“As we introduce these products to market, Havn Life will utilize a multi-pronged distribution strategy including online, retail, subscription and other channels to reach a broad customer base and deliver a quality customer experience,” said CEO Tim Moore.
Penny Stocks To Watch: Jaguar Health Inc.
Jaguar Health Inc. (JAGX Stock Report) is one of the biotech penny stocks we’ve followed for a while. However, December has become one of the most active months of the year. Shares of JAGX stock have skyrocketed from around 22 cents on November 30th to highs of over 70 cents this month. There’s been a bit of consolidation over the last few weeks, however, Tuesday saw a nice shot of momentum trigger another rally.
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Jaguar and its subsidiary, Napo Pharmaceuticalshave been in the spotlight most recently. This month, the two announced a plan for studying, developing, and commercializing Jaguar’s crofelemer. This is a proprietary drug for an indication of inflammatory diarrhea. Specifically, Jaguar’s focusing on the emergence of “long-hauler COVID-19-recovery patients.”
Also keep in mind that the company held preliminary discussions with Swiss Growth Forum, a sponsor of a European special purpose acquisition company, “Post Pandemic Recovery Equity”. There’s a potential deal with the SPAC and an operational subsidiary of Jaguar to be established in Europe with an exclusive license to crofelemer and Mytesi for the indications of inflammatory diarrhea and HIV-related diarrhea.
In a PR this week, CEO Lisa Conte said, “we plan to seek conditional marketing authorization from the European Medicines Agency for crofelemer for the proposed indication of prophylaxis and/or symptomatic relief of inflammatory diarrhea.”
Penny Stocks To Watch: Onconova Therapeutics, Inc.
Onconova Therapeutics, Inc. (ONTX Stock Report) is another one of the biotech penny stocks we’ve been following recently. In fact, just yesterday we brought up a point to have this company on the watch list following several recent updates. Most recently the FDA gave the company permission to proceed with its Phase 1 study for its ON123300 treatment. We were discussing this last week about the company filing its Investigational New Drug Application in November and was awaiting a response.
Steven Fruchtman, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Onconova said that Onconova is “advancing the process to secure Institutional Review Board approval”. He also affirmed the company’s expectation that the first patient will be enrolled during the first half of 2021.
In light of these developments, Onconova has also begun turning heads in the analyst community. This morning, Noble Capital Markets upgraded Onconova from Market Perform to Outperform. This has helped give ONTX stock another boost heading into the second half of the short week this week.
Penny Stocks To Watch: Amyris Inc.
Shares of Amyris Inc. (AMRS Stock Report) continued the December climb, on Tuesday. The penny stock has jumped from around $2.93 to over $5 this month. Monday the company announced closing a $50 million strategic transaction with DSM Nutritional Products. Amris will license rights to assume the supply of its Farnesene to Givaudan for production and sale of single-specialty ingredients.
This deal is structured in a way that $30 million is payable by the end of December. Furthermore, the company is expecting another $10 million by the end of next quarter. Aside from this, the company has previously stated that Q4 is expected to see strength.
In the company’s last quarterly update, John Melo, CEO said, “We expect the combination of a strong fourth quarter along with the successful completion of strategic transactions to set us up for a profitable 2021.”
Unlike your traditional “biotech” company, Amyris focuses on other things including health and beauty treatment technology. Based on this, it might make sense that Q4 could be important considering the company’s retail channels. Amyris’ consumer brands experienced strength this quarter. This was thanks to its Biossance Clean Beauty skincare brand. The Biossance brand recorded three times sales revenue compared to its 2019 Black Friday event.
Penny Stocks To Watch: Ocugen, Inc.
Ocugen, Inc. (OCGN Stock Report) is one of the COVID stocks to watch right now. The latest surge in momentum came after big news was released on Tuesday. Ocugen reported that signed a binding letter of intent with Bharat Biotech. The two plan on co-developing Bharat COVID-19 vaccine candidate, COVAXIN™ for the US market. What’s more important are the details of the treatment candidate.
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While many COVID-vaccine-related companies have started from scratch on small patient pools, this might be a little different. COVAXIN™ has been evaluated in approximately 1,000 subjects in Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials in India, with promising safety and immunogenicity data. The vaccine candidate is currently part of a Phase 3 clinical trial in India involving 26,000 volunteers. Based on the LOI, Ocugen will have US rights to the vaccine candidate.
“COVAXIN™ has garnered interest from several countries worldwide for supplies and introduction and we are excited to collaborate with Ocugen to bring it to the US market,” said Dr. Krishna Ella, Chairman & Managing Director of Bharat Biotech.
