3 Biotech Penny Stocks to Buy [Or Sell] Today
As we approach the end of May, biotech penny stocks are on fire. While there is no one reason for these penny stocks to be seeing sizable gains, we can attribute it to a few potential factors.
On one hand, the entire list of penny stocks have been seeing large improvements as the pandemic has lessened in severity. Across the U.S. we are witnessing major decreases in the number of daily Covid cases reported. While countries like India are still grappling with high rates of the virus, numbers around the world are getting better.
Throughout the pandemic, the virus has shed a massive light on biotech stocks and biotech penny stocks in particular. This is true even if a specific company is not working on a Covid-related treatment or vaccine.
[Read More] Best Penny Stocks To Buy Now? 5 For Your Watch List This WeekAnd with this focus larger than ever, many expect the interest in biotech to continue. Additionally, when we combine the impact of social media such as Reddit penny stocks and others, we find that the volatility with biotech is even higher.
So, while most of the stock market is underperforming right now, mostly off of confusion and less than stellar economic data, biotech stocks remain strong. And. This has been the case for several months at this point. While we don’t know what the future will look like, for now, here are three biotech stocks to watch in late May 2021.
3 Biotech Penny Stocks to Watch Right Now
- AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACRX)
- Onconova Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ONTX)
- Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN)
AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACRX)
AcelRx Pharmaceuticals is a penny stock that we’ve discussed quite frequently over the past few months. Up by around 6% at midday on May 18th, ACRX is once again on many investors’ watchlists. Its solid gain today is a reflection of its Q1 2021 financials and business updates reported only a day earlier. Before we get into it, let’s take a closer look at what ACRX does.
AcelRx is a pharmaceutical company focusing on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics. These are in use across a wide range of medical settings. Its only product with approval right now is DSUVIA. This is a sublingual tablet that is in use for acute pain management.
Additionally, it is working on gaining approval for its Zalviso compound, which is currently an investigational product for moderate to severe pain management. In its Q1 results, the company announced that it ended the quarter with more than $67 million in cash on hand. Additionally, it announced several investigator-initiated studies for its DSUVIA candidate.
“We continue to make solid progress of the commercialization of DSUVIA despite the impact from the pandemic, which appears to be easing as the month of April was our highest commercial ordering month since the launch.
We remain committed to building the body of evidence for DSUVIA and its unique benefit to healthcare providers and their patients by supporting real-world use studies in a number of different settings.”
The CEO of AcelRx, Vince Angotti
So considering this and its sizable pipeline, will ACRX stock be on your watchlist?
Onconova Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ONTX)
One of the biggest gainers of the day, and a stock that we covered several times in the past two weeks is Onconova Therapeutics. Up by around 28% at midday, ONTX stock is propped up by its Q1 earnings report announced yesterday during after hours. In the report, the company stated that it is actively working on several studies for its ON 123300 compound in both China and the U.S.
It stated that two Phase 1 trials; one in the U.S. and one in China, are ongoing and enrolling patients right now. Additionally, it is in a Phase 1/2 study for rigosertib in combination with nivolumab in KRAS mutated non-small cell lung cancer. During the quarter, the company added more than $35 million to its cash balance. This brings its total by March 31st, 2021 to $48 million.
CEO Steven M. Fruchtman, M.D., states that “we are off to a strong start in 2021 and remain focused on advancing our clinical programs, in particular with our lead product candidate ON 123300, a multi-kinase inhibitor that potentially targets CDK 4 and 6, which are overexpressed in a number of cancers.”
[Read More] Which Penny Stocks Are The Most Resilient During a Bear Market?The company’s cash balance is more than double what it had in the same quarter of the prior year. Additionally, it managed to drop its R&D expenses by nearly half to $1.9 million for this quarter. While it did pull in a net loss of $4.7 million, this is less than the $5.1 million it held in the first quarter of 2020.
Considering this, we see some solid signs of growth for ONTX. Whether this is enough to justify its almost 30% gain today remains up to you. However, the signs for Onconova are definitely encouraging for the company and investors alike.
Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN)
Similar to ONTX, shares of AGEN stock are up by more than 26% at midday on May 18th. However, this is not due to any balance sheet report. Rather, Agenus made another exciting announcement during early morning trading today. For some context, let’s talk about what Agenus does.
Agenus Inc. is a clinical-stage immune-oncology company working on developing new therapies to treat cancer. These treatments utilize the body’s immune system to produce a rapid response. Additionally, the company is developing proprietary cancer vaccine therapies through its AgenTus subsidiary.
On Tuesday, Agenus announced an allusive licensing agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) for Agenus’ antibody program known as AGEN1777. This is an Fc-enhanced antibody in the late stages of preclinical development.
It has indications in the treatment of tumor activity in the body by affecting both T and NK cells. In the agreement, Bristol Myers Squibb will pay Agenus an upfront amount of $200 million with more than $1.36 billion in milestone payments along the way.
“We are pleased to partner with Bristol Myers Squibb to develop and commercialize AGEN1777. Their stellar record of success in this area has been an important determinant for our decision to enter into this transaction.”
Garo Armen, Ph.D., CEO of Agenus
While partnerships and licensing deals are common in the biotech industry, it is always exciting when they are announced. Considering this, will AGEN stock be on your list of penny stocks to watch?
Are Biotech Penny Stocks Worth it or Not?
At the end of the day, finding the best penny stocks to watch comes down to your unique investing style. If you can deal with high volatility, biotech stocks may be a great addition to your penny stocks watchlist.
[Read More] Top Penny Stocks to Buy Right Now? 4 For Your June WatchlistHowever, if not, there are some less volatile options out there. But, there’s no denying the vast potential of the biotech industry as a whole as we come to the end of the pandemic and beyond. With this in mind, are biotech penny stocks worth it or not?
