These Biotech Penny Stocks Have Already Made Big Waves In 2021 But Can That Continue?
If there’s one sector that’s been bullish for both penny stocks and blue-chips alike in 2021, it’s been biotech. Last year, we saw these stocks surge thanks to the onset of the pandemic. Millions of traders flocked to cheap stocks with companies working on vaccine candidates. While the race continues and new trials begin, there’s much more to watch than COVID stocks today.
Now, we’ve seen an uptick in things like pain management, mental health, and cancer stocks. As we did earlier today, let’s also look at the recent performance of benchmark ETFs like the Nasdaq Biotech ETF (IBB) compared to broader market funds like the SPY and the QQQ.
| ETF | Low | Close | % Change |
| SPY | 381.84 | 382.88 | +0.27% |
| QQQ | 324.71 | 325.42 | +0.21% |
| IBB | 162.59 | 164.69 | +1.29% |
As you’ll see, Friday’s action was very different in biotech stocks compared to broader sector stocks. The IBB outperformed both the Nasdaq QQQ and S&P 500 SPY by a wide margin. Something else to note is that it did so even with much lighter volume than the ETF had seen in previous trading sessions. If you look at how many shares traded on January 19th, compared to the 22nd, the ETFs 1.29% rebound came with far less market action. How much less?
On Monday, the IBB traded 4.84 million shares and moved up 1.29% from its low to its closing price. Friday, the IBB only traded 1.37 million shares but recorded that 1.29% rebound in price. Considering that it was lower volume during the 3-day consolidation in the IBB, could this be a sign of a new reversal trend? We’ll have to see how things fair this week.
Top Biotech Penny Stocks To Buy [or avoid]
Keeping all of this in mind, it might not be bad to have a list of biotech penny stocks to watch in the meantime:
- VYNE Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: VYNE)
- Predictive Oncology Inc. (NASDAQ: POAI)
- Acasti Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: ACST)
- ENDRA Life Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: NDRA)
VYNE Therapeutics Inc.
The lowest gaining biotech stock on this list is VYNE Therapeutics, but don’t let that be a discouragement point. Shares have mounted a rebound of roughly 18% as of Friday’s close so far this year. But what may be of interest is what happened after the closing bell. VYNE stock jumped to highs of $2.24 during after-hours trading. Though there weren’t any headlines to accompany the aftermarket move, trading was heavy in the stock after Thursday’s update.
VYNE announced a contract with a major pharmacy benefit manager for its AMZEEQ ® (minocycline) topical foam, 4%, and ZILXI ® (minocycline) topical foam, 1.5%. AMZEEQ is indicated for the treatment of inflammatory lesions of non-nodular moderate to severe acne vulgaris. ZILXI is indicated for treating inflammatory lesions of rosacea. These were both FDA approved in October 2019, May 2020, respectively.
Though it wasn’t outlined specifically, VYNE said that this PBM is one of the largest pharmacy benefit managers in the U.S. Something else to consider is that the recent End-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA provided clarity about the development pathway for its FCD105 in acne. The company is anticipating starting this program this year.
Predictive Oncology Inc.
With a run of roughly 88% this year so far, Predictive Oncology has definitely turned some heads in 2021. The biotech penny stock opened at 72 cents on January 4th and finished out last week at $1.36. Like VYNE, shares of POAI stock continued higher during after-hours trading & reached a high of $1.40.
This year’s focus has been on Predictive’s subsidiaries. Early on in 2021, its Helomics business completed the integration of Quantitative Medicine’s active-learning Computational Research Engine. This was paired with Helomics’ TumorSpace™ knowledgebase of 150,000 tumor drug response profiles and the TruTumor™ patient primary tumor cell line assay. This now allows Helomics to offer a new artificial intelligence-powered drug discovery service to pharmaceutical companies. Ultimately, this enhanced the personal medicine platform of Helomics.
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In addition to this, Predictive’s TumorGeneisis sub sold media to two top research medical centers in New York City and Boston, Massachusetts. Both the orders were repeat orders and focused on culturing ovarian cancer cells with specific research outcomes. All along, with these latest updates, Predictive also continued raising millions in working capital. But it did so at prices at or above the market prices at the time of the raises. In these cases, it looks like investors took the funding rounds in stride as shares have continued climbing in January.
Acasti Pharma Inc.
One of the companies we’ve continued covering throughout January is Acasti Pharma. The company has been in the spotlight frequently, thanks to speculation, in my opinion. Acasti reported Phase 3 data of its CaPre treatment last year. Following the results, the company decided not to move ahead in filing a New Drug Application with the FDA.
This ended up resulting in the company seeking strategic alternatives. Acasti went further in bringing on Oppenheimer & Co to help. The plan is to identify potential mergers, acquisitions, or other initiatives that involve the company and/or its current pipeline, including CaPre, the company’s treatment for hypertriglyceridemia.
This has really been the only focus so far. No new potential outcomes have been identified publicly by the company. But, since the start of 2021, ACST shares have climbed 136% to date as of Friday’s $0.80 close. Similar to the other stocks mentioned, after-market momentum also played a role. The penny stock continued climbing to highs of $0.8729 after the closing bell.
ENDRA Life Sciences Inc.
One of the bigger movers on this list is ENDRA Life Sciences. Since it started the year at $0.78, the penny stock has climbed as high as $2.58 and finished last week at $2.33. This move continued into Friday’s after-hours session, with NDRA stock hitting highs of $2.45.
Aside from industry conference presentations, ENDRA has gained additional interest after receiving a new patent this month. The company was issued US Patent #10888898 (the ‘898 patent) entitled “Shielded Ultrasound Transducer and Imaging System Employing the Same” from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This was the 13th U.S. patent issued to ENDRA for its TAEUS® technology.
“The recently issued ‘898 patent provides more robust intellectual property protection for our TAEUS ® platform in the key U.S. market where an estimated 30% of its 1.4 billion citizens are affected by Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease,” said Francois Michelon, ENDRA’s CEO in the January update.
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While no further details have emerged, NDRA stock continued climbing. In seeing the late-afternoon jump following the closing bell, will this be on your list of penny stocks to watch this week?
Final Thoughts On Biotech Penny Stocks
It isn’t uncommon to see biotech stocks jumping daily. No matter what the broader markets are doing, health science doesn’t stop or slow down. However, the fact that speculation can play such a big role is something to consider if you’re looking for biotech stocks to buy. In light of recent events and the upbeat sentiment for sector stocks, it’s up to you to decide if they’re right for your personal trading/investing style.
