Should you buy penny stocks today? If you like volatility, quick gains, handle high-risk situations and understand trading basics, I say, why not? But the stock market today isn’t like it was even just a year ago. The fact is, millions of new traders have flooded into the markets since the pandemic. The goal is making money without a 9 to 5, and so far, many are finding real opportunities to profit.
Over the last few days alone, we’ve seen seriously bullish action in the stock market. Today former penny stock ImmunoPrecise (NASDAQ:IPA) was the latest to grab attention from retail traders. On Monday (7/19), IPA stock was traded around $5 with a volume of fewer than 60,000 shares. Fast-forward to today (7/22), and IPA stock reached highs of $16.47 before the afternoon session got into full swing, with more than 60 million shares traded.
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This wasn’t an outlier either. Other stocks this week like Chembio Diagnostics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CEMI) and NeuroMetrix Inc. (NASDAQ:NURO) made parabolic moves as well. CEMI stock jumped from lows of $2.20 to highs of $6.95, while NURO stock jumped from around $3 on Monday to over $40 today.
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Should You Buy Penny Stocks?
Let’s get something straight; all penny stocks don’t make these types of moves. Many end up failing. But as I said earlier, if you know how to trade penny stocks, this volatility is something you seek daily. Retail traders aren’t the only ones looking for opportunities in the stock market. Today, we’ll look at a few names that Wall Street firms are actually following and giving price targets upwards of 316% right now. Will they end up on your list of penny stocks to buy right now or avoid entirely?
*Note: This is a Continuation Of Our Article “Best Penny Stocks To Buy Now? Analysts See 85%-288% Upside In 3.”
Penny Stocks To Buy [or avoid] According To Analysts
- Performant Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:PFMT)
- Kadmon Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:KDMN)
- Seelos Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SEEL)
- 9 Meters Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:NMTR)
Penny Stocks To Buy [according to Craig Hallum]: Performant Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:PFMT)
Earlier this month, analysts at Craig Hallum initiated coverage on Performant Financial Corporation. The firm started PFMT stock with a Buy rating and a $10 price target. Based on the current price, that’s an implied upside of roughly 114%. Obviously, time will tell if this comes to fruition, but what are some things to look at right now?
Performant aids clients in the government and commercial sectors, helping them find ways to expand revenue models and streamline spending. Craig Hallum analyst George Sutton pointed out that “With a conservative near-term potential revenue opportunity of $700-960M and expectations for legacy revenue to be completely out of the picture starting in FY22, we believe investors should get involved before the market picks up on the opportunity…PFMT has built a massive data set covering >200M lives and invested in developing sophisticated AI to identify inaccuracies. These investments result in higher cost savings for clients, better quality scores, and better margins for PFMT.”
Echoing this bullishness is the PFMT stock chart. Year-to-date, this penny stock has quietly climbed from $0.88 to over $4.60 this week. Financial technology – Fintech – has received its fair share of attention thanks to the pandemic and things like cryptocurrencies gaining mainstream attention. One thing to focus on is the company’s exposure to opportunities in healthcare. In its last few earnings updates, management has stood behind its 2021 target range for healthcare revenue of $83 – $90 million and positive EBITDA.
Penny Stocks To Buy [according to Oppenheimer]: Kadmon Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:KDMN)
Since we last covered Kadmon, shares have remained range-bound. KDMN stock typically trades between $4.22 and $3.50, with its 200-day moving average acting as a consistent level of resistance over the last few months. However, this week was the few times that shares broke above this upper 200-day moving average resistance level.
The initial catalyst for the recent trading action came after Kadmon announced that the FDA granted full approval of its REZUROCK treatment for Chronic graft-versus-host disease. Now we look to August as the next important time for Kadmon. This is when the company expects REZUROCK to be available in the US.
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This wasn’t the only thing helping give KDMN stock a boost, either. Earlier this month, analysts at Oppenheimer gave an update to their current rating. The firm has an Outperform but upped its price target from $8 to $9 following the latest FDA news. That puts an implied upside of 117% based on current trading levels.
Analyst Mark Breidenbach explained, “We discussed Rezurock’s label and pricing with management, and we believe Kadmon is fully prepared to begin promoting Rezurock despite the early approval—thanks in part to a PDUFA date extension earlier this year…We expect Rezurock could take ≥three months to be added to payer formularies and will take time to gain market share relative to ruxolitinib, which is already widely used off-label in cGVHD.”
Penny Stocks To Buy [according to Guggenheim]: Seelos Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SEEL)
Seelos has long been on our lists of penny stocks to watch throughout the year. The company is part of the growing list of psychedelic stocks to watch. It’s also one of the larger holdings in the first psychedelic ETF, Horizon’s Psychedelic Stock Index ETF (PSYK). It currently has 5.71% weighting in the ETF (as of July 16th).
Thanks to its progress in its racemic ketamine trials, retail traders have taken notice. An update a few weeks ago revealed more details from its current ketamine study for acute suicidal patients. The company explained that part 2 of the study would be the basis for a registration trial for its SLS-002 racemic ketamine program. CEO Raj Mehra went as far as saying that SLS-002 has the potential for rapid onset and “aims to show a benefit as quickly as overnight.”
Wall Street analysts may also see potential in this company as well. Guggenheim was the latest firm to jump on the bullish bandwagon this month. Analyst Yatin Suneja started coverage with a Buy rating and $8 target, implying an upside of over 220% from current trading levels. Suneja explained that “The current data suggest that treatment effects with SLS-002 are rapid, robust and durable,” and if approved, “$450M in peak U.S. sales with additional upside in other indications.”
Penny Stocks To Buy [according to BMO Capital]: 9 Meters Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:NMTR)
Earlier this month, BMO Capital initiated coverage on 9 Meters Biopharma. Analyst Gary Nachman started NMTR stock with an Outperform rating and a price target of $5.00. Based on the current trading levels, that would imply a potential upside of 316%. 9 Meters focuses on developing treatments for gastroenterology. It recently acquired the global development rights to a humanized monoclonal antibody, LOB-0136, from Lobesity LLC. LOB-0136, now NM-136, aims to treat patients with Prader-Willi Syndrome.
“Continuing to advance NM-136 will be a very important step forward for patients currently living with PWS and suffering from this life-threatening disease,” said John Temperato, President and Chief Executive Officer of 9 Meters. “This meaningful therapeutic complements and broadens our pipeline of digestive disease assets, while providing us strategic options within our expanded portfolio.”
Aside from this, progress with its Vurolenatide short bowel syndrome candidate is grabbing interest. The company just began its Phase 2 VIBRANT Study on the treatment in June. Nachman also made mention of it in his commentary in tandem with his rating.
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“Vurolenatide offers unique mechanism for short bowel syndrome with promising earlydata and good visibility on Ph2/Ph3, and larazotide could be first approved treatmentfor celiac disease with Ph3 ongoing. Physicians are excited about having both productsavailable given lack of treatments. We conservatively forecast ~$700mm revenue in2030 with just modest penetration. Key catalysts over next 6-18 months should help unlock value.”
Are Analysts Right About These Penny Stocks?
It’s ok to question analysts and their recommendations. Sometimes they are outdated or don’t quite align with the current market sentiment. This list of penny stocks is made up of companies with very recent analyst ratings and, with that, could have a bit more relevance in the stock market today. But the ultimate decision to buy them or avoid them is up to you.
You can read about the rest of the 7 penny stocks to buy according to analysts: Best Penny Stocks To Buy Now? Analysts See 85%-288% Upside In 3
