Penny Stocks For This Week’s Watch List
We’re heading into the end of the week and, of course, there are still plenty of penny stocks to watch. Not only is this because traders are constantly on the hunt for volatility, but also for the fact that small-cap stocks are on fire.
If you take a look at benchmark ETFs right now, there’s an aggressively bullish trend boosting shares of smaller companies. The S&P and Dow both reached new, all-time highs and closing highs on Thursday. The Russell 2000 Small-Cap Index ETF (NYSE: IWM) did as well.
What was the difference? There are a few things to consider. First, the IWM finished up 2.2% whereas the S&P500 ETF (NYSE: SPY) was “only” up about 1% with the Dow ETF (NYSE: DIA) only green 0.62%. Furthermore, the year-to-date figures were even more glaring:
| ETF | YTD % Change (@3/11 Close) |
|---|---|
| IWM (Russell) | +17.5% |
| DIA (Dow) | +6% |
| SPY (S&P) | +4.8% |
While everyone tends to focus on SPY as an active ETF trade, the DIA has actually surpassed the popular ETF by over 1%. This is great and all. But throw in the small-cap, and things begin to deviate from this +/- 2%. The IWM is up over 17% year-to-date as of Thursday’s close. Trends like this continue justifying reasons why traders seek out the next hot penny stocks to buy next. Will these be on your list at the end of this week?
- Seelos Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SEEL)
- Astrotech Corp. (NASDAQ: ASTC)
- Navidea Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE: NAVB)
- Iterum Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ: ITRM)
Seelos Therapeutics Inc.
After having its price target raised by Benchmark from $4 to $6 a few days ago, Seelos Therapeutics is again on the radar. Last Friday, Seelos announced the completion of patient enrollment in its proof of concept study for SLS-002 (intranasal racemic ketamine) for Acute Suicidal Ideation and Behavior. The company states that it should have open-label data by the second quarter of this year.
CEO of Seelos, Raj Mehra Ph.D. stated that “our first look at the potential efficacy of SLS-002 in depressed and imminently suicidal patients should provide valuable insights in this large unmet need. We look forward to initiating Part 2 of this study and are continuing to identify more trial sites.”
Aside from this, Seelos has a large portfolio of novel therapeutics. The company aims to produce substances that target different CNS disorders and rare diseases. Earlier in the year, Seelos announced a new patent for its Trehalose or SLS005 compound in Australia. The goal is to use this substance to treat diseases associated with abnormal protein aggregation in the body. This includes conditions such as muscular dystrophy, DRPLA, Pick’s disease, and more.
[Read More] 4 Marijuana Penny Stocks To Watch As New York Pushes Legalization
Seelos announced the underwritten public offering of roughly 17.5 million shares of common stock in the same time frame. With this, it will have nearly $3.8 million in net proceeds. The company states that it will use these for the repayment of outstanding convertible promissory ones and furthering its product candidates and general corporate needs. So with all this exciting news in mind, is SEEL a penny stock to watch?
Astrotech Corp.
Astrotech Corp. is a penny stock that you may not have heard of at this point. But, it has become a popular choice for a penny stock to watch in the past few months. Astrotech is a tech company working in the development and commercialization of scalable companies utilizing innovative technology. This includes several unique markets such as agriculture and biotech.
In its company portfolio are subsidiaries such as AgLAB, which develops chemical analyzers. Also, it has 1st Detect, which produces trace detectors for the security industry. Lastly, it holds BreathTech, which works on an analysis tool to detect early signs of lung diseases. A few weeks ago, Astrotech announced its second-quarter 2021 fiscal results.
In this quarter alone, Astrotech managed to raise north of $37 million in gross proceeds. CEO Thomas Pickins stated that “we are excited to have our superior technology recognized by a leading voice in the security industry, to have passed the significant $1 million purchase order milestone, and for our progress with the TSA. We believe that we offer the most advanced ETD on the market.”
Back in February, Astrotech also announced the closing of a $9.25 million registered direct offering. With this capital, it should be able to cover its operating expenses and use it for general working needs.
Navidea Biopharmaceuticals Inc.
One of the more intriguing biotech penny stocks is Navidea Biopharmaceuticals. The company is developing several immunotherapeutics for use in a broad range of applications. This includes the production of various products that utilize its Manocept platform.
This platform can specifically target the CD206 mannose receptor in the body. The company utilizes this to create and commercialize compounds such as Tc99m tilmanocept. Last month, the company announced the submission of a Formal Type B Meeting Request with the FDA. This is regarding its NAV3-32 Phase 2B trial for its use in treating rheumatoid arthritis.
Michael Rosol, CMO at Navidea, stated that “we are eager to receive feedback from the FDA on our NAV3-31 Phase 3 design, and are excited to have opened up our first site in the important NAV3-32 trial. Throughout our RA program development, we have worked closely with expert rheumatologists, nuclear medicine specialists, and the FDA itself, and we believe we are on the right path to bring a valuable tool to bear to meet a large unmet medical need of patients with RA.”
[Read More] Top Penny Stocks to Buy Now? 4 For Your Watch List This Week
If it can succeed in this trial, it would allow the company to have a chance to enter the large treatment market for RA. With this meeting request submitted, Navidea is working hard to move forward in potentially commercializing this treatment. While the results may take some time to see, in the meantime, is NAVB a penny stock to watch?
Iterum Therapeutics PLC
Iterum Therapeutics is a biotech company that we’ve been covering for quite some time. On March 12th, ITRM is scheduled to release its fourth quarter and full-year results. Ahead of this, let’s take a closer look at what Iterum has been up to in the past few months. The company has been working on the production and commercialization of its compound, sulopenem.
With the $35 million in net proceeds from a recent offering, the company should have plenty of capital to support the review of its marketing application for sulopenem with the FDA. Also, the capital will be used for the marketing and pre-commercialization activities if all goes smoothly with the FDA. Earlier in the year, its application for oral sulopenem was accepted by the FDA, with a result expected in late July of this year. In addition to this, the company upsized another previously announced offering of ordinary shares to $40 million in net proceeds.
In February, the company also announced a collaboration with Eversana, a commercial services provider to the biotech industry. This collaboration has the goal of commercializing oral sulopenem for the treatment of UTIs in patients.
Corey Fishman, CEO of Iterum, stated that “We are very pleased to partner with Eversana and are confident in their ability to provide end-to-end services to ensure oral sulopenem will reach patients and their families efficiently and effectively once oral sulopenem is available for prescribing. We will be working diligently to ensure we are ready for the potential launch of oral sulopenem in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2021.”
