Current & Former Biotech Penny Stocks To Watch Right Now
When it comes to hot sectors to watch in the stock market this year, biotech is definitely one that comes to mind. Thanks to excitement stemming from countless penny stocks, the mix of volatility and trading action have focused on the biotech space. Working in tandem, the speculative market conditions lend themselves to the potential of the companies within the space.
Essentially, when you think about penny stocks, a few things come to mind. First and foremost, we’ve got to think about early-stage companies. These are usually in pre-revenue or early revenue phases. Biotechnology is easily one of the most pronounced industries investors look at for these types of opportunities. Essentially, we’re talking about companies in stages of development that are pre-commercialization.
Why would anyone invest in biotech penny stocks, to begin with? A few angles can be considered. First, the development of treatments from the ground up is one direction to take. This is something we saw happen over the last year with Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX), for instance. Shares were trading below $5 a share as the pandemic rolled in. The company took its coronavirus vaccine candidate from an idea to a proof of concept and then gained approvals to potentially compete with Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA). So you could mark this as the first former penny stock to watch in July. Below we’ll discuss 7 others that have gained momentum in June so far.
Biotech Penny Stocks & Potential For M&A
Then you’ve got the other side of the coin where a company develops a treatment or biologic technology to a stage where it becomes a target for a take-over. This is where we’ve seen companies in clinical stages getting eaten up by leading biotech companies. For example, global pharmaceutical company Servier acquired Agios Pharmaceuticals’ oncology business, including its commercial, clinical, and research-stage oncology portfolio, for up to $2 billion.
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Merck (NYSE: MRK) bought cancer drug research company VelosBio Inc. from Pappas Capital and other investors for $2.75 billion. Furthermore, last September, Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) acquired Immunomedics for a cool $21 billion to gain access to a breast cancer treatment, Trodelvy.
With this in mind, there are several current and former penny stocks that’ve gained the interest of traders this year. Are they the best biotech stocks to buy now? I’ll leave that answer up to you to decide.
- GT Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ: GTBP)
- Entera Bio Ltd (NASDAQ: ENTX)
- Orphazyme (NASDAQ: ORPH)
- Ocugen inc. (NASDAQ: OCGN)
- Bellerophon Therapeutics (NASDAQ: BLPH)
Hot Penny Stocks To Watch: GT Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ: GTBP)
GT Biopharma has been on the rise ever since late last year. A mix of sound leadership and a novel treatment technology have captivated the attention of both retail traders and analysts alike. GT’s TriKE treatment platform has become the backbone of its therapeutic pipeline.
The company’s solid tumor TriKEs are under evaluation for breast, lung, gastric, colorectal, and ovarian cancer indications. These are cancers expressing HER2 (GTB-6550), PD-L1 (GTB-4550), and B7H3 (GTB-5550). GT Biopharma’s lead treatment candidate, GTB-3550, is in Phase 1/2 trials targeting acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).
This week the company released new data on its Phase I/II trial for GTB-3550. Anthony Cataldo, GT Biopharma’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer explained, “We have now completed treatment of eleven patients. In addition to strong safety results, we have seen significant reductions in CD33+ cancer cells in four of the last seven patients (57%) treated with doses of GTB-3550 ranging from 25mcg/kg/day to 150mcg/kg/day. This early sign of CD33+ target-specific cancer cell killing is very encouraging as we begin to focus on transitioning to the expanded efficacy part of the current GTB-3550 clinical trial.”
Considering the attention that cancer stocks have received lately, it makes sense that GTBP stock has gained attention. Roth Capital, B. Riley, and HC Wainwright all have to Buy ratings on GT Biopharma and price targets ranging from $21 to $25 for the former penny stock.
Entera Bio Ltd (NASDAQ: ENTX)
Shares of Entera Bio have seen an explosive move this week. The interesting part is that just one day ago, it was considered a penny stock. Entera is no stranger to big moves in the market, either. Earlier this year, ENTX stock surged to highs of over $10 thanks to a multi-day move triggered by big news. Entera announced its Phase 2 clinical trial of EB613 met its primary endpoint. This is the company’s treatment for osteoporosis. It has also been said to be the first oral bone-building agent for this type of treatment.
This week, ENTX stock is soaring thanks to topline data from a Phase 2 bone mineral density (BMD) trial of EB613. In this case, the most important BMD endpoint — change in lumbar spine (LS) BMD after 6 months — was met. Spiros Jamas, CEO of Entera Bio, commented, “We are looking forward to an end of Phase 2 meeting with the FDA. More detailed results will also be presented in a future scientific conference and publications. The company will evaluate potential additional osteoporosis market opportunities specifically related to increases in hip BMD.”
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With such a huge jump however, volatility is something to be well aware of right now. Will the trend continue or is another pullback coming like ENTX stock saw earlier in the year?
Orphazyme (NASDAQ: ORPH)
At the beginning of June, Orphazyme was trading below $5 a share. However, similar to ENTX, ORPH stock jumped up big thanks to headline speculation. The center of focus was on Orphazyme’s applications for arimoclomol for Niemann-Pick disease type C (NPC) under priority review with the U.S. FDA. It came to light that the FDA needed more data to confirm evidence to support a benefit-risk assessment.
While the penny stock dropped back down, ORPH could still be one of the names to note after its latest update. Orphazyme announced that as of June 16, 2021, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.’s aggregate holding of shares and financial instruments increased to 5.58% of the share capital and voting rights in Orphazyme.
Furthermore, as of June 17, 2021, the company said that Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.’s aggregate holding of shares and financial instruments had been reduced to less than 5% of the shares and voting rights in the company. This news sparked another big move in the market for ORPH stock and could be something to keep in mind if this is on your list of penny stocks to watch right now.
Ocugen inc. (NASDAQ: OCGN)
Like Novavax, Ocugen has been in the spotlight thanks to excitement stemming from its potential coronavirus vaccine. Its COVAXIN has established a track record of over 300 million doses supplied so far. What’s more, it has emergency use authorization in 13 countries currently. However, the focus right now is gaining positioning in the U.S. and Canada.
Earlier this week, traders circulated detail of an article that highlighted COVAXIN Phase 3 progress according to “sources.” Obviously, “sources” may or may not be reliable until the company confirms such data. But, needless to say, the company has been optimistic about its outlook for advancing the treatment.
It also recently selected Jubilant HollisterStier as its manufacturing partner for Covaxin in preparation for the potential commercial manufacturing for the US and Canadian markets. “Securing US-based manufacturing capability is a critical step as we prepare to submit our regulatory submissions to the FDA and Health Canada,” said J.P. Gabriel, Ocugen’s senior vice president for manufacturing and supply chain.
Bellerophon Therapeutics (NASDAQ: BLPH)
Finally, Bellerophon shares have taken flight just one day after trading at lows of $3.94. The company hasn’t released news in quite some time. However, of its space updates, you’ll see that the core point of focus is on advancing its INOpulse® inhaled nitric oxide therapy in multiple indications.
Late last year, the company began enrolling patients in a Phase 3 REBUILD study for fibrotic interstitial lung disease (fILD) patients at risk of associated pulmonary hypertension. In addition, top-line results from its Phase 2 dose-escalation study of INOpulse in sarcoidosis (PH-Sarc) are expected “this year” as well.
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The rumor mill was buzzing on potential analyst activity involving BLPH stock. Brookline capital was assumed to have given a rating and price target. Other than this, there weren’t any firm headlines directly from the company, so we’ll have to wait and see if further details surface about this supposed analyst update. We’ll update this article on PennyStocks.com if/when details are confirmed.
Are Penny Stocks On Your Watch List Right Now?
A few other biotech penny stocks to watch right now include:
- Clearside Biomedical (NASDAQ: CLSD)
- Syros Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: SYRS)
Both have seen a reversal in trend recently and have interesting updates that were released in the last few weeks. Thanks to the excitement in the biotech space, penny stocks remain a core focus for retail traders right now. Will any of these current or former stocks under $5 be on your watch list heading into July?
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. 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). Click Here For Full Disclaimer
