Biotech Penny Stocks On Robinhood To Watch Right Now
Penny stocks are in a bright spotlight heading into the month ahead. With Monday marking the first trading day of May, it’s important to take time, analyze trends and get ready for what the market has in store. But, whether you’re trading penny stocks on Robinhood, Webull, TDAmeritrade, or others, the goal is always the same: making money and repeating the process.
While it may be easier said than done, the research aspect of your trading process is key. Don’t only look for industry trends alone. These may be a good gauge of where the market is focused at the moment. However, in general, when it comes to penny stocks, the companies themselves react in a less connected way to market trends and more toward individual corporate events.
For instance, biotech companies have become somewhat of an anomaly. Even when markets were getting sold earlier in the year, small-cap biotech stocks were continuously on the radar. This made for some exciting times for those trading penny stocks. Why were these types of companies in focus? When you’re talking about emerging companies, even the smallest development can bode favorably in the stock market. A positive data readout, a new patent, commercial product launches, etc., are all things that can become positive market catalysts.
Robinhood Gives Boost To Penny Stocks
With the emergence of apps like Webull and Robinhood, penny stocks have benefitted greatly. The millions of new traders in the stock market over the last year has been something we haven’t seen in recent history. Thanks to the pandemic, making money without working a traditional job became the new norm for many. Apps like Robinhood became the go-to for 1 simple reason: it’s easy to use.
While other apps include advanced charting tools, streaming news, and more, Robinhood kept it very simple: buy, sell, search for stocks. Now there are simple charting options for users, but overall, the attractive thing is easily placing a trade. Are there negatives to the app? Of course, and one of those negatives is the types of stocks accessible on the platform.
With few exceptions, OTC penny stocks are not able to be traded. Regardless of the fact, there are still plenty of penny stocks on Robinhood to buy. With this in mind, here are a few of the biotech companies with upcoming potential catalysts in May. Will they be the best penny stocks to buy on Robinhood or avoided entirely?
- Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: AGTC)
- Palatin Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PTN)
- Sio Gene Therapies Inc. (NASDAQ: SIOX)
Robinhood Penny Stocks To Buy [or avoid] #1: Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: AGTC)
Shares of Applied Genetic Technologies have been steadily rebounding after hitting 52-week lows late last month. The biotech company’s stock hit $3.54 on April 20th to the dismay of traders who had been following the company since the start of the year. This was night and day different to how things had been progressing for the company during the first quarter of the year. Why?
In February, Applied Genetic caught a strong surge of momentum that took shares of AGTC stock to highs of $9.67. This jump came as Roth Capital slapped a $24 price target on the company and as Applied released its 2020 financial results. In particular, Applied pointed out that it was on track for providing “multiple data readouts” for its X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP) and achromatopsia (ACHM) clinical programs. Fast-forward to now, and shares are trading much lower.
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Why would anyone be watching AGTC stock right now? It has everything to do with what’s happening in May. This week the company is set to present data from its ongoing XLRP and ACHM trials at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting. Two presentations will be made; one on May 3rd and the next on May 6th. AGTC could be one of the Robinhood penny stocks to watch right now in light of these two events.
2. Palatin Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PTN)
Another one of the biotech penny stocks on the list this week is Palatin Technologies. The company specializes in targeted treatments for diseases with unmet medical needs and commercial potential. Right now, its main focus is on retinal diseases; no pun intended. Like Applied Genetic, investors will be “eyeing” the upcoming Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting.
In particular, Palatin will present on its melanocortin platform. Furthermore, details of these presentations will highlight the positive clinical data from its Phase 2 study in dry eye disease patients and the potential use of Palatin’s melanocortins in treating ocular inflammation.
One of the presentations has already taken place over the weekend. On Saturday, Palatin presented details on dry eye clinical treatments, so we’ll see how the market reacts on Monday morning. The next presentation comes on May 6th and focuses on a poster titled “Protective Effects of 2 Melanocortin Agonists Delivered by Intravitreal Injection in Mouse Models of Retinopathy.” Given the timing of all of this, it could be an interesting week to watch PTN.
3. Sio Gene Therapies Inc. (NASDAQ:SIOX)
Last week was a strong week for Sio Gene in the stock market. First, it marked the continuation of a bullish finish to the month. Shares of SIOX stock managed to climb from just $2.30 on April 21 to highs of $2.89 on April 30th. This was helped when new analysts began covering Sio Gene. Specifically, HC Wainwright initiated coverage at the end of last week. The firm put a Buy rating on Sio Gene and set an $8 price target.
The recent focus for the company is on its AXO-Lenti-PD, AXO-AAV-GM1, and AXO-AAV-GM2 treatment platforms. Sio Gene dosed the first patient in a Phase 1/2 trial on AXO-AAV-GM2 at the start of February. According to Chief R&D Officer Gavin Corcoran, this platform “has the potential to change the course of this disease and help affected children attain and retain important neuro-developmental milestones.”
Why would Sio Gene be one of the biotech penny stocks to watch this month? There aren’t any previously announced upcoming events this week. However, the following week on May 13th and 14th, Sio Gene is set to give 4 presentations at the 24th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy. In particular, the presentations will focus on AXO-AAV-GM1 and AXO-Lenti-PD. Furthermore, according to an update last week, the AXO-AAV-GM1 presentation includes a review of patient-level data on safety and efficacy at 6 months follow-up from the low-dose cohort of the study.
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Since this is an upcoming event with a longer runway ahead, it may be something to keep in mind heading into the month, in general. Given the bullish take by analysts and an active week of presentations next week, SIOX could be one of the penny stocks to watch in May.
Should You Buy Penny Stocks Right Now?
Don’t forget that we’re still talking about penny stocks here. There are plenty of risk factors to consider. Aside from lower prices and higher volatility, most of these companies are still in their infancy. When looking at biotech companies like these, we’re also talking about development pipelines that are still not in commercial phases.
Milestones can play a big role in the success or failure, with the reaction in the market becoming more intensified. Where stocks like Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX) or Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) might move a few percentage points after releasing new data, biotech penny stocks can experience big moves in any direction depending on what was announced.
With most of these companies presenting data this month, they could be some of the names to know. Just remember that updates and news can spark bullish or bearish sentiment depending on the results.
