Will March be the Month That These Biotech Penny Stocks Jump?
Over the past year, the attention paid to biotech penny stocks has continued to increase. While it’s easy to assume that this is only due to the coronavirus, there are some other factors at play. Now we can’t deny the role that the pandemic has had in boosting up many unknown biotech penny stocks.
But, we’ve seen that even if a company is not participating in a covid treatment, it can see attention all the same. Over the past weekend, the federal government approved Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE: JNJ), Covid-19 vaccine candidate. Also, announcements have come out that its competitor, Merck & Co Inc. (NYSE: MRK), will produce many doses.
This is good news in the past year when positivity has been sparse. And now, it looks like we could see the light at the end of the tunnel. As of March, Pfizer, Moderna, and now Johnson & Johnson are all shipping millions of doses of various vaccines. It comes down to how many people can receive these doses and in what time frame this occurs.
In the meantime, however, we see the return of bullish sentiment in the stock market. With March 1st seeing massive gains across both blue chip and penny stocks, the hopes are that this can continue. Given this, let’s take a look at four biotech penny stocks to watch in March. Will they be on the list to buy, or should you ignore them for now?
Biotech Penny Stocks to Buy [or ignore]
- Assertio Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ASRT)
- Novan Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVN)
- Opko Health Inc. (NASDAQ: OPK)
- Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ZYNE)
Assertio Holdings Inc.
Assertio Holdings is a penny stock that we have covered quite a few times in the past several months. After announcing a $34.3 million registered direct offering only a few weeks ago, ASRT stock has been seeing some larger gains. Often, a biotech company will use financing methods like this in the interim between research and potential drug commercialization.
Because of the heavy focus on biotech penny stocks right now, many companies have seen share prices shoot up in the past six months. The recent bullish sentiment with Assertio seems to be due to a few factors.
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For one, the company is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 earnings on March 11th after market close. Ahead of this, we can take a closer look at ASRT. Assertio is a pharmaceutical company working to commercialize a large range of compounds. The company currently has eight FDA-approved products available for various conditions.
Novan Inc.
NOVN is another penny stock that we have been discussing over the past few months. During that time, there have been multiple days of double-digit gains for NOVN stock. Since December, shares of the biotech company have shot up by over 250%.
Most recently, the company reported its full-year 2020 financial results. In the results, Novan discussed the completed enrollment in its B-SIMPLE4 pivotal Phase 3 study. The company utilizes its platform, Nitricil, to produce novel compounds. Paula Brown Stafford, CEO of Novan, stated that “as we continue to grow and build momentum advancing our priority development pipeline and the Nitricil platform technology, we are focused on preparing for success and equipping the Company with the necessary resources and capital.”
Its lead compound, SB206, is being studied for efficacy in treating molluscum contagiosum. While this ailment is quite common, there are not many viable options for those suffering from it. Because of this, the company sees a large market opportunity in its treatment.
On March 2nd, the company announced the election of Steven Skolsky to its Board of Directors. Steve holds a great deal of experience in bringing pharmaceuticals to market in both the private and public sectors. For this reason, he could be an invaluable asset to the company as it works toward commercialization.
Opko Health Inc.
One of the more covid focused biotech penny stocks is Opko Health Inc. in the past year, revenue for the company has more than doubled due to its Covid testing products. In its fourth-quarter report posted a few weeks ago, the company posted substantial numbers. This comes as shares of the biotech penny stock shot up by over 169% in 2020 alone. In the report, OPK posted $494 million in revenue.
This represents a 121% jump year over year. Additionally, Opko brought in a net income of $32.2 million or $0.05 per share. While its overall results were exciting, we have to take a closer look at its Covid testing unit. The company produces these diagnostic tests through its BioReference Laboratories business. Revenue with this area alone shot up more than 157% year over year to $457 million. While its pharmaceuticals business dropped by around 4% year over year in revenue, this is understandable considering the pandemic.
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Outside of its coronavirus-related pipeline, the company also has several novel compounds in its pipeline, including its somatrogon treatment. This is a drug used in treating pediatric growth hormone deficiency.
Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Another biotech stock to watch this week has been ZYNE. The company produces a large range of compounds for an equally broad range of common disorders. In the past few years, it has been working on the production of cannabinoid-based transdermal therapies. These are used in the treatment of certain neuropsychiatric disorders. A few weeks ago, the announcement of Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: JAZZ) offering to buy GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: GWPH) for $7.2 billion sparked bullish rallies around the biotech space. As we see, the correlation between companies in the biotech industry is extremely high.
After this announcement, shares of ZYNE went shooting up. For some context, GW Pharmaceuticals produces a compound known as Epidiolex. This is a cannabinoid-based treatment for certain disorders. Zynerba, on the other hand, has worked to produce a substance known as Zygel, which acts similarly to Epidiolex. Currently, Zygel is in a pivotal trial for the treatment of Fragile X syndrome, which could have results at the end of this year. If it does receive approval, could Zynerba become a leader in the cannabinoid-based pharmaceuticals industry?
