If you’re one of the thousands of traders looking for the best penny stocks to buy right now, today may be a difficult day to find stability. With more omicron headlines stirring up concern over the weekend, broader markets took a spill.
In fact, as of the early afternoon session on December 20th, there were few, if any, major sector ETFs trading at or near positive levels. More cities are reinstituting pandemic era restrictions. Washington D.C., for example, had its mayor implement indoor mask mandates in public schools.
With fear as the main thread to the latest stock market sell-off, questions arise as to whether or not this is the start of something bigger. That begs the question: are we in for a stock market crash? For now, the idea of a crash is far from reality. Technically speaking, the definition of a stock market crash is widely considered by a dramatic drop in share price.
Is This A Stock Market Crash?
In most conversations, a crash is defined as a drop of more than 20% in a short period. The S&P500 ETF (NYSE: SPY) has only dipped about 4.5% in the last three sessions. This isn’t something to ignore, but if we’re talking about a stock market crash, there’s still quite more downside necessary to reach that mark.
Read more: Penny Stocks To Buy Now According To Insiders In December 2021
In any case, the latest selling pressure hasn’t made finding top stocks an easy task. With so much volatility and chop, many large-cap stocks have given little direction. However, one niche of the stock market that enjoys more volatility is that of penny stocks. Today we look at a handful of these cheap stocks to watch under $5 right now. They’ve traded inversely to the broader markets and gained some interest among retail traders. Remember, though, just because they may be “cheap” doesn’t automatically mean they’re a “buy” right now. That is something I’ll leave up to you to decide.
Penny Stocks To Watch
- Advanced Human Imaging (NASDAQ: AHI)
- BioDelivery Sciences Internatinal Inc. (NASDAQ: BDSI)
- Lineage Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NYSE: LCTX)
Advanced Human Imaging (NASDAQ: AHI)
This year has been a very active one for IPOs, and Advanced Human Imaging has added to the trend. The company went public last month in a relatively small IPO. Despite the early public debut of AHI stock being a bit lackluster, the month of December has become very active and full of momentum.
The company is unique in that it offers a smartphone-based human scanning technology with various applications and services in several different industries. The majority of these industries are centered around health and wellness. Last week, Advanced expanded its Latin American presence via a deal with telemedicine company, Nextmedicall. According to company CEO Vlado Bosanac, “Through this partnership, Nextmedicall wishes to triage patients into early intervention and care. This will reduce the need for episodic care, through early diagnosis and intervention that results in better health outcomes.”
Thanks to the onset of the omicron variant, virtual health could become a point of focus for the market. Last year we saw the rise of companies like Teladoc (NYSE: TDOC) as more patients opted for virtual rather than in-person care visits.
BioDelivery Sciences Internatinal Inc. (NASDAQ: BDSI)
Another one of the biotechnology companies in the spotlight today is BioDelivery Sciences. Without much-advanced notice, shares of BDSI stock skyrocketed on Monday. This was a warm welcome to shareholders who’ve watched the penny stock crumble over the last month thanks, in part, to lowered guidance in the latest round of earnings results. This also triggered downgrades and price target cuts from analysts like HC Wainwright. Currently, the firm has a Neutral rating (down from a Buy) and lowered its target from $6 to $4.50 last month.
Read more: Check These Penny Stocks Out For Your Watchlist As the Market Dips
BioDelivery specializes in specialty pharmaceuticals targeting chronic conditions. Its product portfolio includes BELBUCA and Symproic, both of which generate revenue for the company. BioDelivery also plans on launching ELYXYB, which it acquired earlier this year. BioDelivery purchased the rights for ELYXBTM for acute migraine treatment in the US and Canada. According to the company, this is the first and only FDA-approved ready-to-use oral solution for acute treatment of migraines with or without aura in adults.
What’s more, recent insider activity has also prompted attention from investors. At the start of December, Director Mark Sirgo picked up a little more than 18,500 shares at an average price of $2.69. His direct holdings grew to 1.159 million shares in light of this purchase.
Lineage Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: LCTX)
With biotechnology being one of the few sectors in the green right now, it’s no surprise that this list of penny stocks is full of related names. Lineage Cell Therapeutics has once again traded higher to start the week, thanks to another critical update from the company. The company specializes in treatment programs that utilize cell therapy platforms to target numerous indications. Its OpRegen, for example, is a retinal pigment epithelium transplant therapy. It’s currently in Phase 1/2a trials for treating dry age-related macular degeneration. The company is also developing OPC1, which is in development for treating acute spinal cord injuries, and its VAC2, which is Lineage’s Immuno-oncology and infectious disease platform. Right now, it’s in development for treating non-small cell lung cancer.
This week, Lineage announced that Roche’s Genentech drugs business purchased the rights to further clinically develop and commercialize OpRegen. Lineage receives $50 million upfront and is eligible to receive up to $620 million in milestone payments. There are additional tiered royalties as part of the agreement.
James Sabry, M.D., Ph.D., global head of Pharma Partnering, Roche, said, “We are excited to partner with Lineage Cell Therapeutics to advance potential new therapies in an area of high unmet medical need.”
Thanks to this, LCTX has joined the list of active penny stocks to watch right now.
Final Thoughts On Penny Stocks
Things are choppy in the stock market today. Considering this, it’s essential to have a trading plan no matter what types of stocks you’re looking at. With tax-loss selling still a factor, in addition to fearful trading thanks to omicron, penny stocks can be exciting options. But, again, it’s important to understand some of the basics of trading before jumping in, head-first.
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