Whether you’re trading high-priced or penny stocks, there’s no denying that March has been incredibly volatile. If you know how to trade low-priced stocks, this environment has likely been very opportunistic. That’s because penny stocks – stocks under $5 – are inherently volatile, so when you compound that with a market that follows the same trend, it can present opportunities to capitalize on.
Now, this all sounds great and makes trading penny stocks sound easy. While it’s “simple” to trade, there’s nothing “easy” about trading highly-volatile stocks. So a game plan is a must, and so is understanding the factors that could impact the market. The latest influences have stemmed from the supposed banking collapse after last week’s Silicon Valley Bank disaster.
Its surprise decision to sell most of its bond portfolio at a loss, insolvency issues, attempts to raise billions to stop the bleeding, and more have sent a shockwave across the banking system. Regional banks have taken the brunt of the selling pressure, but that doesn’t mean the big banks were immune either.
JP Morgan, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and others have seen their share prices slip. Why mention this? One of the biggest reasons that new or experienced market participants look at cheap stocks to buy – even when the stock market is down – is based on the fact that the vast majority move independently of the overarching trends of broader markets.
Case in point, even when the “world was ending” earlier this week, and investors feared for the safety of their money inside banks, more than a few penny stocks put in triple-digit moves. With this in mind, we are looking at a few more low-priced stocks heading higher while the S&P500, Nasdaq, and Dow components chop around in the stock market today.
Penny Stocks To Watch
Nautilus Biotechnology Inc. (NAUT)
Since the beginning of 2023, Nautilus Biotechnology has been on the move. Shares have climbed from around $1.80 to over $2.30 during that time, and the latest bump took NAUT stock back above its 200-day moving average for the first time since the stock traded long enough actually to have a 200DMA.
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Following its latest earnings release and corporate update, Nautilus has gained some added attention in the stock market. Today also marked NAUT stock’s highest single-day trading volumes that NAUT stock experienced in seven months.
One thing that comes to mind is what was outlined in its February corporate update. Nautilus CEO Sujal Patel explained, “We presented scientific posters throughout the year that articulated key elements of our single-molecule approach to proteomics, strengthened the core leadership of our R&D team, and dramatically expanded our development organization, all while tightly and successfully managing operating expenses. We very much look forward to building on the successes of 2022 as we move through 2023 on our way to a commercial launch…”
With this backdrop and new momentum, NAUT could be one of the penny stocks to watch heading into the rest of March.
BigBear AI Holdings (BBAI)
Artificial Intelligence stocks (AI stocks) have been a mainstay on traders’ watchlists this month. Thanks to the excitement stemming from breakthrough tech, including the mass adoption of ChatGPT, any company working on or involved with this industry has gained attention. BigBear AI is one of the names that exemplifies this trend’s ups and downs during the stint of speculation. The penny stock exploded to over $6.50 last month and has since slipped below the $2 level by mid-March.
Needless to say, plenty of things are going on with the company now that seem to have raised some eyebrows. In particular, the company’s CEO, Mandy Long, outlined several milestones and goals for the company in its last corporate update.
“In the fourth quarter, we continued our mission of delivering clarity for the world’s most complex decisions with BigBear.ai’s advanced AI capabilities. This core strength, coupled with the actions we took to strengthen our financial position, enabled us to deliver on our 2022 revenue and Adjusted EBITDA targets, despite continued macroeconomic uncertainty. We are building momentum and positioning ourselves as a strong competitor for larger prime contracts.”
BigBear’s CFO Julie Peffer echoed this sentiment. She discussed how the company anticipates a “substantially lower cash burn” and utilizes a $25 million financing from earlier this year to allow the company to target “growth investments judiciously.”
Bark Inc. (BARK)
This penny stock has been attempting a recovery after a multi-week downtrend that took it to new 52-week lows. The last two days were some of the biggest green days it has seen in March. Bark has recently started on the presentation circuit this week and next. Yesterday the “Bark Box Company” attended the UBS Global Consumer and Retail Conference in New York. Next week management will attend the Canaccord Genuity eCommerce Sustainable Adanvatage Forum, which will be held virtually.
While this has been a breath of fresh air for longs in BARK stock, initial concerns emerged after the company announced third-quarter results. Mixed results brought a bit of negative sentiment. But even with that as the case, management remained upbeat.
Matt Meeker, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, said, “The third quarter highlighted the significant progress we have made executing against the strategic initiatives that we laid out at the beginning of the fiscal year. Our average order value is growing at the accelerated pace we anticipated, and we delivered the strongest gross margin quarter since going public–even with all of the heavy holiday promotions–and we anticipate further improvements ahead. We were also very encouraged by the recent growth of our food and dental product lines. These are massive opportunities for us, and while they are growing from a relatively small base, the recent acceleration is notable.”
Analysts at Lake Street seem optimistic about Bark’s prospects at the moment. The first has a Buy rating on BARK stock and a forecast target price of $4.
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List of Penny Stocks
- Nautilus Biotechnology Inc. (NASDAQ: NAUT)
- BigBear AI Holdings (NYSE: BBAI)
- Bark Inc. (NYSE: BARK)
