Penny Stocks Taking Aim At COVID-19 Vaccines
This week the conversation about coronavirus and, in turn, coronavirus penny stocks took a turn for the better. In his afternoon update, U.S. President Donald Trump explained that Gilead’s (GILD) Remdesivir, a previous treatment for ebola, had shown very promising results. This spurred Trump to discuss reopening the U.S. economy – albeit in stages – sooner than later.
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What Is Remdesivir?
Remdesivir is showing “rapid recoveries in fever and respiratory symptoms, with nearly all patients discharged in less than a week” in patients at a Chicago hospital. That’s according to medical site STAT.
“The entire world has been waiting for results from Gilead’s clinical trials, and positive results would likely lead to fast approvals by the Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory agencies. If safe and effective, it could become the first approved treatment against the disease.”
But Remdesivir is just one of many new drugs being made or repurposed to fight the virus. Thanks to this latest development, coronavirus stocks are gaining more attention on Friday.
Best Penny Stocks To Watch For Coronavirus: Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc.
First, on this list of penny stocks, Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AGNPF Free Report) (AGN) has caught more attention this week after a big update on Monday. The company received positive feedback from the U.S. FDA regarding its plans to reformulate its repurposed drug NP-120 (Ifenprodil).
The reformulation would be for a new intravenous product, best suited for hospital and ICU use. This new formulation is part of Algernon’s clinical program for treating acute lung injury including COVID-19.
“Patients that are suffering from severe respiratory infection may not be able to ingest medication in a pill or capsule form and so the development of an intravenous formulation is a key objective.”
Christopher J. Moreau CEO of Algernon
Algernon has filed new intellectual property rights globally for Ifenprodil for the treatment of respiratory diseases. It’s working to develop a proprietary injectable and slow-release formulation. What’s more is that according to the company, it investigated Ifenprodil in an acute cough animal study.
Findings show that it outperformed Merck’s (MRK) phase 3 drug Gefapixant by 110%. Since Ifenprodil is already approved with an established safety history, Algernon intends to move the drug directly into a phase II human trial. Since the start of the month, Algernon stock has climbed over 100%
Best Penny Stocks To Watch: Akorn Inc.
Akorn Inc. (AKRX Free Report) took off running on Friday. Shares of AKRX stock exploded at the open breaking quickly above $0.30. While there hasn’t been any news to speak of, the market is racing today.
Before 10:30 AM EST, AKRX stock had already traded more than 35 million shares. For most of the month, the stock has traded in a tight range between $0.17-$0.21 with daily share volume of around 5 million. With more than 7x that already today, what could be the driving force behind the move for Akorn stock?
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While Akorn is a specialty pharmaceutical company, there haven’t been many new headlines about its path toward or away from COVID-19 treatments. And after missing on its last quarterly earnings, the future prospects weren’t all that bright for Akorn either. In fact, there were even FORM 4 filings showing insiders selling stock in larger amounts. If that weren’t enough, the company also announced that because of COVID-19, it no longer had any bids in the sale process that would be sufficient enough to pay all obligations under its term loan agreement.
Doug Boothe, Akorn’s President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Unfortunately, our sale process has been negatively impacted by the broader market uncertainties related to the COVID-19 crisis. However, we are working closely with our lenders to determine the best path forward to ensure that the Company is positioned for long-term success.”
So what’s driving Akorn stock right now?
As we’ve already seen this week, the simple unknown can built on investors’ speculative mindset. Could it be that in light of new developments, Akorn may now have a chance at a viable deal? Or could it be something more closely related to a path toward selling treatments? On its website, the company lists a slew of products right now included branded drugs. However, so far, the facts are unclear but as always, leave a comment and let us know what you think is moving AKRX today.
Best Penny Stocks To Watch: Taronis Technologies
Shares of Taronis Technologies (TRNX Free Report) has been on the move late this week. On Thursday, TRNX stock traded over half a billion shares as its price began climbing. The company found out on Friday that it is being exempted from meeting the Nasdaq minimum bid requirement. According to the company, “Nasdaq has granted temporary regulatory relief related to minimum listing bid price requirements and the market value of publicly held shares due to the COVID-19 pandemic for all Nasdaq listed companies.”
So while Taronis doesn’t have anything that targets a vaccine or treatment, it has benefited from COVID-19 in the short term. The company owns a patented plasma arc technology enabling the application for fuel generation and water decontamination. Its primarily focused on the global fuel and water industries.
This may come as a sigh of relief for some who’ve been invested in the company for some time. Since the start of the year, TRNX stock has tumbled and eventually reached new 52-week lows of $0.105 earlier this month. This is a big day for the company, of course, but keep in mind that it may be a temporary fix. Also, it’s worth noting that Taronis has also assured the public that it has adequate cash on hand for 2020 and won’t pursue a reverse split. All of this combined seems to have helped bring a bit of positive sentiment to the penny stock for once.
Penny Stock To Avoid: SCWorx
Shares of SCWorx (WORX Free Report) was a big mover earlier this week and a former penny stock. WORX stock ran from under $3 to highs of $14.88. But since then shares have been sliding. While it could have been a big 1-day trade, the longer-term prospect hasn’t faired as well. That could have gotten even worse on Friday after new reports have emerged.
Let’s start with what the company announced. SCWorx released news on Monday that it received a committed purchase order from Rethink My Healthcare, a U.S. -based virtual healthcare network. This was for two million COVID-19 Rapid Testing Units, “with provision for additional weekly orders of 2 million units for 23 weeks/. The value of this deal per week came in at $35M. Following a business update on the 15th, it seemed that there were more questions than answers.
On Friday it all came to a head with popular a short reporter released their opinion on the company. Hindenburg Research explained that it believed the news to be “bogus” and cited a “checkered past” from its CEO. In closing remarks, the firm said, “We also think shares could ultimately move far lower than $2.25 if/when regulators look into the company’s potentially nefarious business practices at a time when our country and its citizens are arguably at their most vulnerable.” While this is still somewhat speculative, it is something to keep in mind if WORX stock is on your list right now.
