Penny stocks have become some of the hottest things to buy during this latest leg of the market’s bull run. Despite the pullback in the S&P 500 this week, the slight dip pales in comparison to the year-to-date move so far. This year, for example, the SPY ETF started January at $375.31. This week, the SPY ETF reached a low of $450.29.
Yes, if you’re doing the math, the S&P was still up roughly 20% year-to-date at the low of this latest downtrend. In light of the average returns over a longer-term timeframe being in the ballpark of 10-13%, the markets are still, very much, in a bull market.
Better still, when traders are optimistic about the outlook for stocks, the risk-on environment yields significant interest in higher-volatility assets. Penny stocks fit this mold perfectly and offer some of the most exciting ways to profit quickly. In this article, we’ll look at four hot penny stocks today. Once you see what’s going on with these companies, I’ll leave it up to you to decide if they’re the best to buy or avoid entirely right now.
Penny Stocks To Buy [or avoid]
- Ardelyx Inc. (NASDAQ: ARDX)
- Petros Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: PTPI)
- Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CPIX)
- Nautilus Biotechnology (NASDAQ: NAUT)
1. Ardelyx Inc. (NASDAQ: ARDX)
This week, a nice 3-day move in Ardelyx shares has it back on the list of penny stocks to watch this week. At the end of last month, the company’s headlines have helped put ARDX stock on the map as far as analysts are concerned.
Ardelyx announced plans to launch its IBSRELA platform. This is its approved treatment for irritable bowel syndrome with constipation in adults. The official launch is expected before the end of the first half of next year during the second quarter.
With timing beginning to play a clear role regarding a potential near-term catalyst, bullish analyst sentiment has helped boost ARDX stock. Wedbush adjusted its $1 price target to $2 and currently has a Neutral rating. Meanwhile, Citigroup reiterated its Buy rating and raised its $7 target to $13. Ladenburg Thalmann analysts echoed a similar sentiment in upgrading ARDX stock to Buy. The firm also has a $6 target.
In light of the upcoming drug launch and a bullish outlook from multiple analysts, ARDX could be one of the penny stocks to watch this week.
2. Petros Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: PTPI)
Like Ardelyx, Petros Pharmaceuticals is no stranger to more significant moves recently. PTPI stock shot higher at the end of November, thanks to several catalysts. First, Petros filed a proxy statement early last week, highlighting the upcoming Annual Meeting in December. Up for vote include proposals to elect board members and compensation factors, among other things. You can check our article Best Penny Stocks Today: Why ATXI & PTPI Stock Are Moving for more details on the vote.
Thanks to Petros’ position in the men’s health industry, its relationship with companies like Hims & Hers has also played a speculative role. Earlier this quarter, the company highlighted the significant progress made with the sales growth of STENDRA tablets. This was thanks to a digital health marketing agreement with Hims & Hers Health Inc. (NASDAQ: HIMS). The company reported a 476% year-over-year uptick in STENDRA sales.
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In a press release on Monday, Hims & Hers announced that customers in select cities can have products delivered through the Uber Eats app (NYSE: UBER). As we discussed, this may not have much to do with Petros directly, but the general relationship with Hims & Hers could be one thing to account for right now. Petros also closed a $10 million financing this week with funds earmarked for expanding the availability of STENDRA. Is PTPI on your list of penny stocks right now? If so, looking ahead, the company presents at the Benzinga Small-Cap Conference next Wednesday.
3. Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CPIX)
Cumberland Pharmaceuticals has also seen a big move during the last week. CPIX stock surged on Tuesday following news after the market closed on Monday afternoon. In many cases, it’s essential to make sure not to close things down right at 4 PM ET. CPIX stock is a clear example of that. Once the news circulated, it triggered a massive move on November 30. Cumberland reported that the FDA approved expanded labeling for its Caldolor, an intravenously delivered ibuprofen.
Though CPIX stock pulled back during the last few sessions, the market picked back up on Thursday. The last few days have been some of the most active for the penny stock all year. With that, it’s important to keep in mind how big a move CPIX stock has made in a short period. It may be prudent to keep a close eye out for any new filings or signs of profit-taking from earlier in the week. To put it into perspective, CPIX stock is up nearly 100% since the beginning of the week. Will this bullishness continue, or will there be a pullback in the short term? That’s a question to ask yourself if this is one of the penny stocks on your watch list right now.
4. Nautilus Biotechnology (NASDAQ: NAUT)
A hot trend in the stock market right now is going public via SPACs. The acronym for Special Purpose Acquisition Company, these blank check stocks are becoming more popular with investment firms for quickly taking companies public. However, they don’t have the best reputation when it comes to success for retail traders. Case in point, NAUT stock has been down over 50% since the SPAC merger was made.
Regardless, we weren’t looking at the $11+ SPAC back then but are right now. NAUT shares have traded sideways around $4.40 for the last few weeks, and now some new interest is focusing on some of Nautilus’ original fundamentals. At its core, the company is creating a platform technology for “unlocking” the potential of proteome, a set of proteins expressed by an organism.
More recent attention has focused on Nautilus’ newest strategic partnership with Abcam (NASDAQ: ABCM), a life sciences research company. According to the company’s November release, “The relationship leverages Abcam’s industry-leading recombinant monoclonal antibody development technologies and expertise to enhance Nautilus’ reagent research and development and establishes a long-term supply relationship between the companies. The partnership will initially focus on the collaborative development of affinity binding reagents for use on the Nautilus proteomic analysis system and will expand in the near future to the large-scale manufacture and supply of reagents for commercialization.”
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Thanks to an uptick in virus cases and interest in things like monoclonal antibody treatment, NAUT could be one of the penny stocks to watch right now.
Best Penny Stocks To Buy?
These companies have or recently had more considerable developments bring new interest to their respective markets. As with most stocks, big moves can equal significant gains (obviously). But it’s also essential to keep in mind that we’re talking about penny stocks. Volatility tends to play a more prominent role, so your extensive breakouts can break down just as quickly. With that said, making sure you’ve got your profit targets adequately laid out, and an exit strategy in mind is a great way to ensure successful trading no matter the stock’s price.
