Are These Robinhood Penny Stocks On Your Watch List This Week?
Thanks to former penny stocks like AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC) and GameStop (NYSE: GME), traders are becoming more familiar with the potential of cheap stocks. Not only that, but the short squeeze and “gamma squeeze” set-ups are a constant trend being followed this year. They often come with the addition of other market catalysts like news or speculation.
What Is A Short Squeeze?
A short squeeze is a unique phenomenon where a rapid rise in stock price ensues amid specific conditions. First, you should understand the mechanism of shorting stocks.
This is where a trader believes a stock’s price will drop, and to take advantage of this, the trader will “short” it. This involves borrowing shares from a broker, selling them in the market, then repurchasing them at a lower price to pay back the borrowed shares. The trader’s profit is the spread between where the shares were sold (at the higher price) and bought back (at the lower price).
Short Squeeze In Action
This is a perfect case scenario for someone looking to make money shorting stocks. But, keep in mind, no matter the price of the stock, the shares eventually need to be returned (not the cash value). When a short squeeze happens, it usually involves a stock, once in a downtrend, seeing a sharp reversal in price.
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In this case, short-sellers may opt to buy back as soon as possible, even at higher prices, thus taking a loss to pay back those borrowed shares. Buying ultimately begets buying, and you end up with a situation where bullish buyers and short-sellers scrambling to pay back their debts are pushing prices higher. Prime examples of this in 2021 were countless meme stocks lead by AMC and GME.
Robinhood Penny Stocks
Popular platforms like Robinhood played a big role in retail traders capitalizing on short squeeze stocks. The app even halted or restricted trading in certain penny stocks because of the pandemonium that ensued during the big breakouts of AMC, GME, and countless others.
In this article, we’ll look at a few current and former penny stocks on Robinhood with important things to watch this week. Some of these “things” will be short data, which usually gets updated in the middle of the month and others will be corporate events like earnings and business updates.
Penny Stocks On Robinhood To Watch This Week
- GT Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ: GTBP)
- Blue Apron (NYSE: APRN)
- MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ: MNKD)
- Vaxart Inc. (NASDAQ: VXRT)
GT Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ: GTBP)
While it isn’t one of the short squeeze stocks to watch, this former penny stock does have an upcoming event this week. GT Biopharma is set to discuss Q2 2021 financial results and give a business update on August 13th. One of the things most likely in focus is the company’s pipeline developments and outlook. GT Biopharma has several treatment candidates that’ve gained attention this year.
Its lead treatment, GTB-3550, is currently in phase trials for patients with acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes. Early data has also shown a meaningful response from the first round of patients. More importantly, none of the participants in the study had run into adverse events so far.
GT Biopharma has developed a treatment pipeline based on its novel TriKE treatment platform. TriKE or “tri-specific killer engager” leverages the cancer cell killing potential of Natural Killer (NK) cells in numerous indications. Aside from GTB-3550, new details were announced earlier this quarter, with GT reporting positive preclinical data from its GTB-5550 B7H3 TriKE treatment candidate.
It was found to be effective in multiple cancer cell types. In particular, B7H3 is overexpressed in cancers including non-small cell lung cancer, breast, renal, pancreatic, ovarian, liver, and colorectal cancers. In preparation for filing an Investigational New Drug application with the FDA, GT Biopharma’s GTB-5550 is going through GMP manufacturing scale-up processes.
Will GTBP hold a place on your list of stocks to watch with upcoming earnings and a business update?
Blue Apron (NYSE: APRN)
A classic “stay at home stock,” Blue Apron has come under plenty of pressure as economies reopen. This has lead to short interest building in the penny stock. Some accounts have a short percentage of float, sitting around 21% as of this article. With this has come plenty of attention thanks to the constant search for penny stocks with high short interest.
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It also “helps” that APRN stock has gotten beaten down in 2021. Since reaching highs of $12.35 earlier this year, shares are down more than 60%. Is there hope for APRN stock even without the instance of a short squeeze?
More recently, bullish sentiment has been building thanks to speculation. The center of focus is on a possible round of fresh lockdowns. If you took a look back in 2020, Blue Apron was one of the early winners of pandemic momentum. Shares rallied from around $2 to nearly $30 as the world shut down.
Aside from that, the company’s recent earnings results have also raised a few eyebrows. Blue Apron reported that it expects higher sales and new menu options moving forward. Needless to say, a mix of technical and fundamental interests could have APRN on the list of penny stocks to watch right now.
MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ: MNKD)
Another one of the penny stocks with a higher short interest is MannKind Corporation. As of this article, the most recent percentage short data shows interest around 13%. Not as big as APRN, but by most accounts, a higher level of shares shorted all the same.
In MannKind’s case, the stock itself hasn’t gotten beaten up as badly as Blue Apron. Furthermore, the trend since the start of 2021 is more sideways than anything. The broader trading channel for MNKD stock has been between $3.50 and $5.50, with some instances of trading above and below this range.
One of the recent developments that have this penny stock back in focus is its deal with NRx Pharmaceuticals. The two are evaluating a dry powder formation of NRx’s anti-inflammatory drug, Zyesami. The drug candidate is in clinical trials as a potential treatment of critical COVID-19 with respiratory failure. It’s also been given fast-track designation by the FDA.
This Wednesday, MannKind reports its next round of earnings. So given the timing of everything, it could be one of the penny stocks to watch depending on what gets revealed on Wednesday after the closing bell.
Vaxart Inc. (NASDAQ: VXRT)
Another one of the former penny stocks to watch on this list is Vaxart Inc. While short interest isn’t the only focus right now, for VXRT, it has played a role. Based on the most recent data, the short float percentage is right around 20%. What’s more, the company’s recent business update helped shed a brighter light on a few things that were up in the air during more recent weeks.
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One of the topics discussed was the potential of Vaxart’s R&D and clinical development initiatives. CEO Andrei Floroiu said, “We strengthened our balance sheet, made major research advances, deepened our scientific knowledge, grew the company, and took the company closer to our goal of developing disruptive oral tablet vaccines that can have a material impact on the world’s public health.”
Vaxart’s platform has shown progress in recent clinical trials. Its norovirus vaccine, built on the company’s VAAST platform, demonstrated the ability to boost immune responses in those who’ve been previously vaccinated with a Vaxart oral vaccine. In some cases, this vaccination period was more than a year earlier. The company also has a current trial study going on. This is of its S-Wuhan construct, which it expects to begin shortly. Obviously, with growing virus cases and the eventual rise of “cold and flu season,” this early progress has begun to gain attention in the market.
Current & Former Penny Stocks This Week
Whether we’re talking about penny stocks or higher-priced ones, the risk always plays a role. What’s more, the addition of certain “events” or technical “catalysts” can add more volatility into the equation. Everything from earnings and corporate updates to high short interest or social sentiment can play a factor. So, it’s important to understand all possible things “at play” when you’re putting together your watch list. Heading into the second week of the month, keep this in mind.
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). Click here for full disclaimer.
