Biotech Penny Stocks Catching Attention From Robinhood Traders
Should you buy penny stocks this week? It has become one of the hottest trends in the stock market today. These low-priced stocks continue creating a buzz among retail traders of all backgrounds. If 2020 taught us one thing, it was that you couldn’t judge a book (or a stock) by its “cover.” Last year’s sell-off in February and March showed the true color of many traders. Let me explain what I mean.
Writing about and discussing penny stocks with people every day opens doors to talk to many different types of traders and investors. For the most part, had you mentioned “penny stocks” to a long-time trader in 2019, you likely would have gotten that skeptical reaction. But guess what, in 2020, many of the most popular companies across multiple industries imploded and ultimately became penny stocks. What did these same people have to say now? Not much, apparently, and, in fact, we’ve seen an incredible uptick in the level of trading activity in stocks under $5.
In addition to this, COVID-19wound up creating some massive wins in penny stocks. Take a look at many of the green energy stocks that traders are clamoring about lately. Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG), FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ: FCEL), and even Nio Inc. (NYSE: NIO) were all penny stocks at the start of 2020. Right now, it seems that if there’s potential to be had, the “new retail trader” is less concerned about price and more focused on getting those tendies.
Robinhood + Penny Stocks = Boom In Retail Traders
We also saw the pandemic create an entirely new crop of traders in a very short period of time. If you look at the penny stock brokerage growth stats of 2020, you’ll see what I mean. Without much to do during quarantine, millions of people flocked to the stock market. The go-to choice for pandemic trading was Robinhood. Despite all of the recent upset stemming from restrictions placed on certain stocks earlier this year, new users continue opening accounts on the app.
One of the likely reasons that Robinhood traders are having trouble saying goodbye is user experience. While the app doesn’t offer fancy charting, technical analysis, up-to-the-second news, etc., it does offer a very clear and easy way to buy and sell stocks, options & cryptocurrency.
This means that there isn’t likely going to be a shortage of people searching for the best penny stocks on Robinhood to buy. Keeping the trend in mind, here are a few biotech stocks that could be on traders’ watch lists at the start of this week. It’s also worth mentioning that recent analyst ratings have suggested a bullish stance from the Street.
Robinhood Penny Stocks To Watch This Week
- GT Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ: GTBP)
- OPKO Health Inc. (NASDAQ: OPK)
- Selecta Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: SELB)
- MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ: MNKD)
- Marker Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: MRKR)
Penny Stocks On Robinhood To Watch #1: GT Biopharma Inc.
GT Biopharma has been one of the more active biotech penny stocks we’ve discussed for months at this point. Despite its current price, GTBP remains a popular name. If you haven’t heard about the company yet, it’s an immunotherapy developer. The company’s hallmark treatment platform, TriKE, utilizes natural killer (NK) cells to offer unique, customizable options for patients suffering from immune diseases.
Its lead treatment, GTB-3550, is initially indicated for myelodysplastic syndromes and refractory/relapsed acute myeloid leukemia. The current Phase trial has enrolled 9 patients to date. Even at higher dose levels, GT has explained that all patients treated displayed no sign of any grade of cytokine release syndrome, which is a negative side effect that current platforms can trigger.
Crediting this to the TriKE platform, CEO Anthony Cataldo said in a recent update that the “ability to work in the patient without outside supplemental engineered NK cells or the need for any combination drugs sets TriKE apart from other cancer therapies. This is also the reason why TriKE™ therapy will be significantly less expensive than other treatments, opening the door to an off-the-shelf therapeutic.”
While GTB-3550 has been a core focus, GT Biopharma has also developed other candidates. Its ROR1TriKE is indicated in prostate cancer. The company reported data on ROR1 TriKE™, which showed efficacy in promoting NK cell killing of multiple prostate cancer cells. This was significant enough that the company plans further evaluation as well as more IND-enabling preclinical studies. The ultimate goal would be to transition to a Phase I/II clinical trial.
As an aside, Roth Capital recently initiated coverage on GTBP. The firm gave it a “Buy” rating and a $25 price target.
2. OPKO Health Inc.
Another one of the biotech penny stocks on Robinhood we’ve seen trend lately has been Opko Health. Not only have shares of OPK stock been in an uptrend recently, but the broader view of the chart also shows an even more bullish trend.
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Since early April of 2020, OPK has climbed from lows of $1.12 to a recent March high of $4.92 on Friday. This move has come with a solid mix of COVID-related headlines and other pipeline advancement milestones. Most recently, Opko was at the center of attention after details from the SAM.gov site surfaced. These showed that Opko had won a government contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs for ‘Score Lab Test 4K.’ While it wasn’t a mega-contract ($54,000), it was somewhat of a catalyst last week.
What’s more, ongoing pressure from an activist investor to offload its BioReference unit has also become a source of speculation. This stemmed from recent M&A action within the diagnostics space earlier this month. Needless to say, the recent action in the stock has continued supporting some analysts’ bullish stances on the company. Most recently, Barrington Research boosted its price target to $8 from $7 and maintained its Outperform rating.
3. Selecta Biosciences Inc.
Selecta was one of the biotech penny stocks that ended up climbing significantly higher after Friday’s closing bell. Where the regular session finished out at $4.58, SELB stock continued higher during after-market hours. This saw the stock climb as high as $4.89. What was the catalyst for this post-market move? There weren’t any headlines that came out on Friday. However, you can see in the filings that there are a few things to look at. Namely, the insider buys from the company’s Chief Medical Officer, Peter Traber. He picked up a total of 20,000 between an average price of $4.50 and $4.5295 last week.
Similar to Opko, Selecta has experienced a nice uptrend recently. Furthermore, SELB stock has been on the move for the better part of the last 5 months. Since October, SELB has climbed from lows of $1.47 to highs last week of $4.71.
Aside from insider activity, Selecta seems to have benefited from a bullish outlook discussed by the company in its last corporate update.
“We are very pleased by the continued progress of our gene therapy program. In collaboration with AskBio, our lead program in methylmalonic acidemia, is on track to enter the clinic in the second quarter of this year, and we expect initial data by the end of the year,” said Carsten Brunn, Ph.D., president, and chief executive officer of Selecta.
“A key objective of 2021 will be to generate human data in our gene therapy programs and to continue to build our extensive pipeline in gene therapies, enzyme therapies–with an expected IND filing by the end of the year in IgA nephropathy–and autoimmune diseases, as we work to deliver on our mission to leverage our pioneering ImmTOR platform to improve the lives of patients and their families.”
4. MannKind Corporation
Year-to-date, MannKind is trading significantly higher than it was in 2020. This time last year, MNKD stock was hovering around $1. Last Friday, shares closed at $3.72 and continued higher during the aftermarket session to $3.83. The biotech penny stock had even traded as high as $6.25 up until a few weeks ago.
One of the big bearish catalysts for the drop came on the heels of recent headlines. In particular, MannKind announced a private placement of $200 million in convertible notes. This ultimately resulted in a major sell-off in the market, where MNKD ended up hitting lows of $3.14 earlier this month.
Last week, the company participated in Oppenheimer’s 31st Annual Healthcare Conference. Though, based on the late-week pullback, it doesn’t appear that the market was overly enthused with what was discussed.
However, with fresh capital in hand, the company aims at advancing its current pipeline. This includes a Phase 3 clinical trial of its Afrezza inhaled insulin product in pediatric subjects. MannKind also explained that it wants to further the development of product candidates in its pipeline. The company may also use a portion of the proceeds for acquisitions or strategic investments in complementary businesses or technologies.
Even with the pullback, analysts seem to remain bullish on the company. SVB Leerink most recently adjusted its price target on the stock. It had previously issued a $3 target but upped it to $5. The firm also carries an Outperform rating on the stock.
5. Marker Therapeutics Inc.
Marker Therapeutics Inc. has been a relatively under-discussed name in the biotech sector this year. That’s even despite its meteoric rise from under $1.50 to over $3.70 early on. Some instances saw the stock trading less than 120,000 in a single session. But most recently, trading volumes have increased after MRKR stock dropped hard after announcing a large public offering at a steep discount to the market at the time of the news. Shares of MRKR stock fell from over $2.50 to recent lows of $1.78.
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However, at the end of the week last week, MRKR stock strongly rebounded. It would end up closing the gap from earlier in the month. An onslaught of Form 4s showed hand fulls of investors and insiders participating in the recent offering. The company raised the money to fund its Phase 2 trial of MT-401 in acute myeloid leukemia. Marker also plans to develop MultiTAA therapies into clinical trials in other indications and conduct manufacturing activities, among other things.
In addition to this, analysts have also weighed in recently. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Marker this month. The firm started MRKR at Overweight and gave a price target of $6.
Pursuant to an agreement between Midam Ventures LLC and GT Biopharma (GTBP) Midam has been paid $150,000 for a period from March 1, 2021, to April 1, 2021. This compensation is payment 1 of 12 as part of a 12-month agreement between Midam Ventures LLC & GT Biopharma (GTBP), for a period from March 1, 2021, to February 28, 2022. Midam Ventures LLC expects to be paid $150,000 per month for a total of 12 months by GT Biopharma (GTBP). Midam has been paid an additional $150,000 for a period from April 2, 2021, to May 1, 2021. This compensation is payment 2 of 12 as part of the Agreement. Midam has been paid an additional $150,000 for a period from May 2, 2021, to June 1, 2021. This compensation is payment 3 of 12 as part of the Agreement. Midam has been paid an additional $150,000 for a period from June 2, 2021, to July 1, 2021. This compensation is payment 4 of 12 as part of the Agreement. Midam has been paid an additional $200,000 for a period from July 2, 2021, to July 29, 2021. This compensation is payment 5 of 12 as part of the Agreement. Midam has been paid an additional $200,000 for a period from July 29, 2021, to September 2, 2021. This compensation is payment 6 of 12 as part of the Agreement. We may buy or sell additional shares of GT Biopharma (GTBP) in the open market at any time, including before, during, or after the Website and Information, to provide public dissemination of favorable Information about GT Biopharma (GTBP).
