5 Penny Stocks To Watch As Biotech Sector Heats Up; 1 Up 380% In Q3

Are Biotech Penny Stocks Part Of Your Strategy Right Now?

This week, eyes are on things like energy penny stocks. That's the case to kick off the Monday session. However, as traders try to chase the next big momentum breakout, smart money might be pivoting toward the "slow" stocks. Take a look at countless biotech penny stocks right now. You should notice an interesting trend. Many have seen considerable momentum and some have even experienced short-term breakouts. Overall, however, many are upholding a much longer-term trend. In fact, as you'll see in today's article, one of them has managed to steadily climb over 380% this quarter alone.

Biotech has always been the "go-to" for traders looking to capitalize on speculative momentum. This is, of course, home to companies that are quite literally making life-changing products. With the onset of coronavirus this year, the sector has taken a very bright spotlight. While that focus was very specific to COVID-19 earlier in 2020, it has broadened a lot more, recently.

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I think the initial spark came as Gilead went to acquire Immunomedics in a $21 billion deal to gain access to Immunomedics' oncology platform. Instead of "just coronavirus vaccine stocks," we're beginning to see all of those Robinhood traders dig deeper. Now they're looking for the sympathy trades and next big penny stocks to benefit from this new trend. Here are 5 names already gaining steam this week.

Biotech Penny Stocks To Watch: GT Biopharma Inc.

This week, GT Biopharma Inc. (GTBP Stock Report) reached some of its highest levels in nearly 2 months. Over the weekend, we discussed this company along with several other biotech penny stocks expecting updates. When it came to most, they were either expected to make data updates or presentations around this time. These companies had previously announced anticipated milestones either this week or "by the end of the quarter". Obviously, the clock is ticking for those companies right now.

GT Biopharma, however, has begun experiencing momentum following an update last week. The company announced that it had completed treatment of the first patient enrolled at Dose Level 3 in this Phase I/II trial of GTB-3550. Results appear to have been favorable with the dose showing a decrease in AML blast levels from 18% to 12% in the bone marrow.

GT Biopharma also observed an increase in the patient's NK cell activity and numbers attributable to the IL-15 component of the TriKE(TM) molecule. Additionally, the patient experienced no adverse reactions.

GTB-3550 is GT Biopharma's lead drug candidate. It's the first TriKE(TM) (tri-specific natural killer engager) product initially developed for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). What's more is that TriKE(TM) has been evaluated in ovarian, breast, prostate, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and lung cancer models. According to GT Biopharma, it demonstrated a significant reduction in tumor burden in animal models. It also boosted overall survival in animal models of solid tumor cancers.

biotech penny stocks to watch GT Biopharma Inc. (GTBP stock chart)

Biotech Penny Stocks To Watch: Axovant Gene Therapies Ltd

Axovant Gene Therapies Ltd (AXGT Stock Report) was another one of the biotech penny stocks to watch over the weekend. In fact, it's been on the watch list since mid month after Axovant announced a key update regarding a partnership with Viralgen. The company said it will have access to manufacturing resources for its AAV-based gene therapy programs. This includes AXO-AAV-GM1 for GM1 gangliosidosis and AXO-AAV-GM2 for GM2 gangliosidosis.

Gavin Corcoran, M.D., Chief R&D Officer of Axovant also added a little allusion in response to this update. Specifically, he alluded to potential milestones before the end of the year.

"Our partnership with Viralgen provides us access to an expansive facility and a highly skilled team focused on delivering technology that can accelerate the development of life-saving therapeutics. This approach is crucial as we continue to advance our AAV programs where data from the ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical study of AXO-AAV-GM1 is expected in Q4 2020 and we anticipate IND clearance of the AXO-AAV-GM2 IND application before year-end."

The news came shortly after Axovant released its conference schedule for September. The company has presented at 4 major investor and industry conferences this month. Most recently it was at the Biotech In Europe Forum last Thursday. While excitement has certainly grown around coronavirus, the broader appeal to other pipeline treatments has become more evident. AXGT stock has tested the upper limits of the penny stock range already, this week. With volume trending well-above-average, it will be interesting to see what the rest of this week has in store for the penny stock.

Biotech Penny Stocks To Watch: Anavex Life Sciences

Shares of Anavex Life Sciences (AVXL Stock Report) also took off at the start of the week. The penny stock rallied over 14% following a recent analyst coverage. Ladenburg Thalmann, analyst Robert LeBoyer initiated coverage on the company. He gave it an initial Buy rating. He also put a price target of $12 on AVXL stock.

If Anavex sounds familiar, that's probably because you've been a reader of PennyStocks.com for the last few months. During the first few days of February, we began reporting on AVXL stock. The company announced that it received Fast Track Designation from the FDA. It was for its ANAVEX(R) 2-73 clinical development program. ANAVEX(R)2-73 is designed to treat Rett syndrome.

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Fast-forward "a few months" and the company continues reaching new milestones. A few weeks ago, Anavex announced completion of the ANAVEX(R)2-73 (blarcamesine) U.S. Phase 2 study in Rett syndrome. The Company expects to announce topline results from this study in the next quarter.

Biotech Penny Stocks To Watch: Evogene Ltd

Another one of the top biotech penny stocks to watch lately has been Evogene Ltd. (EVGN Stock Report). During September alone, EVGN stock jumped as much as 154% on the heels of key developments. We've gotten to see this move, first-hand. The initial spark came right before the company began presenting at investor conferences. Evogene came also did a deal with ARK Investment Management, LLC, and Alpha Capital Anstalt. The two would invest a total of $10 million into the company via this deal.

On top of these developments, Evogene's subsidiary, Biomica, also reported a bigger update during the second week of September. The company announced positive pre-clinical results in a study of its live bacterial product, BMC128. It's designed to treat the immune system with anti-tumor properties.

"We look forward to providing incremental updates as we work towards first-in-man proof-of-concept clinical trials," commented Dr. Elran Haber, CEO of Biomica. In addition, the company's Canonic subsidiary published an updated investor deck. Believe it or not, EVGN stock has also found footing in the cannabis arena. Canonic focuses on leveraging plant genetics to produce valuable strains of medical cannabis. In any case, EVGN stock reached fresh 52-week highs on Monday marking a move of over 380% in Q3. Will it consolidate or continue higher through the week?

biotech penny stocks to watch Evogene Ltd. (EVGN stock chart)

Biotech Penny Stocks To Watch: American Shared Hospital Services

American Shared Hospital Services (AMS Stock Report) might not be one of the familiar penny stocks for many of our readers. That's likely due to the fact that AMS stock doesn't trade as active as others we write about. However, this week, shares have climbed more than 16% and volume is well-above-average so far. There haven't been any new updates from the company, however, AMS stock has extended a now, two-day move that began on Friday.

The company doesn't make breakthrough therapeutics. American Shared Hospital Services is engaged in providing gamma knife stereotactic radiosurgery equipment and radiation therapy to medical centers in the US. So, while it isn't biotech, it is definitely "Bio-tech" aka medical devices.

The company has been going through a bit of a facelift in the leadership department. Its Board of Directors recently appointed the interim President and CEO, Raymond C. Stachowiak as the company's formal CEO, starting Thursday. The Board also realigned several other positions earlier this month.

"On behalf of the Board of Directors we welcome Ray as the Company's CEO and look forward to his further contributions in this important role. Having worked alongside Ray on the Board since 2009, the Directors are confident in his abilities to expand AMS' opportunities and future growth. We believe that he has a great team in place to assist in executing his strategic plan, and the team's new titles and responsibilities reflect that," commented Ernest A. Bates, M.D., founder and Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. In light of this recent surge of momentum, it could be an interesting week to have AMS stock on the watch list.

biotech penny stocks to watch American Shares Hospital Services (AMS stock chart)

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5 Penny Stocks To Watch As Biotech Sector Heats Up; 1 Up 380% In Q3

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