Risk and reward often go hand in hand, making the stock market profitable and dangerous. Among the best examples of this axiom are penny stocks, stocks priced at $ 5 or less. With this low price, there is the potential for extreme gains, because even an ever lower price increase will translate into a high percentage gain.
JPMorgan’s head of small and mid cap strategy, Eduardo Lecubarri, sees both opportunities and dangers in the current market environment – and the great potential of small cap stocks that have room to operate.
“The 1Q may be unstable after the strong gains since November and the fact that the valuations are at historic highs. However, the outlook for the year is encouraging due to much more powerful fundamental tail winds. This positive scenario is likely to keep investors in search of the few stocks that still offer great recovery value, as they seem to have started doing in the year. It is for this reason that we encourage investors to build their portfolios now and see things in the event of any consolidation phase that may occur in the first quarter, ”wrote Lecubarri.
Taking risk into account, we use the TipRanks database to find attractive stocks at bargain prices. The platform led us to two tickers bearing “Strong Buy” consensus ratings from the analyst community. Not to mention that the potential for substantial appreciation is on the table. We are talking about a return of at least 300% in the next 12 months, according to analysts.
AcelRx Pharmaceuticals (ACRX)
Opioids have made headlines in recent years, and for all the wrong reasons. These potent pain-relieving drugs are also dangerously addictive – a factor that has led to the opioid epidemic in the United States. AcelRx is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to creating safer treatments for acute pain, developing synthetic opioid drugs for sublingual dosing (under the tongue).
The company’s main product, sufentanil, was approved by the FDA under the name Dsuvia in 2018 and by the EU as Dzuveo in the same year. A second sublingual sufentanil system, under the name of Zalviso, has also been approved for use by the EU and is undergoing phase 3 testing in the United States.
In its most recent earnings report, the company showed $ 1.4 million in revenue, driven by $ 1.3 million in product sales. The number of sales increased 433% sequentially, and the number of total revenue, 133% year on year.
In this scenario, several Street members believe the ACRX’s $ 1.40 share price looks like theft.
Cantor analyst Brandon Folkes is optimistic about Dsuvia’s prospects as an alternative to current opioid treatments, and he believes the potential will increase the company’s stock.
“With the launch of Dsuvia, we believe that the investor’s focus can now shift to launch metrics and peak sales potential for the product. As ACRX launches a real alternative to IV opioids, we hope investors will begin to appreciate the product’s value. We believe that Dsuvia offers a breakthrough in delivering adequate pain management, eliminating the need for an invasive and time-consuming intravenous installation in the emergency room, as well as in an outpatient or post-surgery setting. Although hospital launches take time, we hope that the adoption of Dsuvia will increase revenue beyond Street’s current estimates, which, in turn, can raise inventory to current levels, ”said Follked.
In line with his optimistic stance, Folkes values the ACRX as a buy, and its $ 9 target price implies room for an impressive 552% bullish potential in the next 12 months. (To look at Folkes history, click here)
Moving now to the rest of the street, 3 purchases and no waiting or sales have been published in the past three months. Therefore, ACRX has a strong consensus purchase rating. Based on the average price target of $ 7, the shares may rise 407% next year. (See ACRX stock analysis at TipRanks)
NuCana (NCNA)
NuCana is a biopharmaceutical company focused on new cancer treatments. The company’s goal is to provide effective treatments for biliary, breast, colorectal, ovarian and pancreatic cancers – avoiding the complications and side effects of current chemotherapy treatments. NuCana uses a phosphoramidate chemistry technology called ProTide to create a class of drugs that will overcome the limitations of the nucleotide analogs that exist behind many chemotherapy drugs. NuCana ProTides have already been used in Gilead’s antiviral drug Sovaldi.
In May last year, NuCana announced the restart of its Phase III test with Acelarin, the most advanced candidate drug in the company’s line, as a treatment for biliary tract cancer. The study covers more than 800 patients in 6 countries and is currently underway. In November, the company published data described as ‘encouraging’ from the Phase Ib study of the same drug.
Although Acelarin is the main drug in development, NuCana has two other perspectives in development. NUC-3373 is in Phase I testing as a treatment for solid tumors and colorectal cancer, and NUC-7738 is a second route under investigation for applications in advanced solid tumors. Of these three, the colorectal study is the most advanced.
Writing from Truist, 5-star analyst Robyn Karnauskas sees the pipeline as the key to NuCana’s investor potential.
“We believe that investors have forgotten the fact that NCNA is a platform company that we believe to be validated, as defined by the production of clinical products. We like that he brought three products to the clinic, including a new drug and two improved chemo-bases. The data suggests that the platform works and can produce better chemo […] Although investors are mainly focused on Acelarin, we believe that investors should also focus on NUC-3373, another core of our platform-based thesis that has expected data for 1H2021 ”, noted Karnauskas.
To that end, Karnauskas sets a target price of $ 22 at NCNA, suggesting that the stock has room for 384% growth ahead, along with a buy rating. (To look at the history of Karnauskas, click here)
Overall, NCNA’s strong buying consensus rating is unanimous and based on 4 recent reviews. The shares have an average price target of $ 17.33, suggesting an increase of 270% in one year from the current trading price of $ 4.69. (See NCNA stock analysis at TipRanks)
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Legal notice: The opinions expressed in this article are exclusively those of the analysts presented. The content should be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investments.