Best Penny Stocks To Buy Before Friday? 4 Under $4 To Watch - Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN), Clear Channel Outdoor (NYSE:CCO)

4 Penny Stocks To Watch With Increased Volume This Month

Penny stocks were in direct focus on Wednesday. Partially thanks to surging prices in names like Express and GameStop, traders were seeking volatility. It was also a topic of conversation on countless financial outlets (obviously including PennyStocks.com).

There are a lot of factors currently at play in the stock market. As we all saw today, retail traders could have a bigger influence on stock prices than we ever thought. Outside of this, we have to consider the pandemic, geopolitics, and the economic recovery in the U.S. While broader markets took a hit on Wednesday, we still saw plenty of individual names make new highs.

Although there is a lot of speculation going on for both blue chip and penny stocks, day traders remain bullish overall. One might assume that the pandemic would lead to bearish sentiment, but investors are hopeful for a recovery in the long term. In the meantime, the markets are watching for vaccine distribution to gauge how far away the end of the pandemic could be.

Even with the volatility in the stock market, traders can utilize strategies to help take advantage of the current situation. For some watchlist inspiration, here are four penny stocks with increased volume on January 27th.

Penny Stocks to Watch

Agenus Inc. AGEN
Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. CCO
Qualigen Therapeutics Inc. QLGN
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. NAK

Agenus Inc.

One of the more modest gainers of the day is Agenus Inc. The company is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology drug producer. While Agenus Inc. isn't working on a Covid-related treatment, it does have several novel therapeutics in its pipeline worth mentioning. This includes compounds that utilize antibody therapeutics, adoptive cell therapies, and cancer vaccine platforms. On January 26th, the company announced that it had entered into a clinical collaboration agreement with Nelum. The goal with this is to develop the compound known as zalifrelimab, an anti-CTLA-4 antibody, combined with Nelum's NLM-001 substance.

Julie DeSander, VP of Business Development at Agenus, states that "this collaboration with Nelum is an exciting next step in our partnership strategy to broaden combinations and indications with our late stage checkpoint antibodies. Zalifrelimab…shows promising results alone and in combination with balstilimab, our anti-PD-1 antibody."

This is exciting news as it shows there could be potential for Agenus' drug moving forward. Obviously, the ultimate goal is the commercialization of this treatment. In the meantime, however, investors should consider this news when looking at AGEN stock.

Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc.

Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. is a company that we have covered several times in the past few months. With a 6% gain on January 27th, CCO stock is once again on many investors’ radars. In the past six months, CCO shares have shot up by around 106%, which is very substantial. Before we dive further, let's take a look at what Clear Channel does. The company operates as an advertising business and is one of the largest in the world. It provides a wide range of outdoor ad services, including billboards, transit displays, and more. While it does have operations worldwide, the company primarily derives its revenue from the American market. The company states that its portfolio includes 500,000 print and digital displays in total.

This is quite massive and spans 31 countries globally. A few weeks ago, the company announced that it would be releasing its Q4 2020 financial results on February 25th before the market open. While this is a ways away, it is an important date for prospective investors to keep in mind. With Clear Channel, we have to consider a few factors. For one, the public is not traveling at levels near pre-Covid. This means that Clear Channel could see less business in the short term. But, if vaccines can continue to be dispersed around the world, CCO could resume normal operations. Investors should make sure to keep an eye on any news about CCO stock in the short term. Earnings are set for release on February 25th.

Qualigen Therapeutics Inc.

Qualigen Therapeutics Inc. is another penny stock that we've discussed several times in the past few months. In the past month, shares of QLGN stock are up by around 17%. This is a direct reflection of the bullish sentiment currently surrounding biotech penny stocks. Qualigen is a biotech company developing new drugs to treat both cancer and infectious diseases. This includes AS1411, which is currently in development to treat Covid-19. Last month, it announced a $12 million registered direct offering to help fund corporate costs and drug research. Additionally, in December, the company stated that it had completed the AS1411 drug supply recertification for use in FDA trials.

Michael Poirier, CEO of Qualigen, stated that "even with the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines, we see this virus being around for many years to come in different forms. The mechanism by which AS1411 is believed to work, by blocking the ability of viruses to replicate in the body, may make out therapeutic effective against future mutations in Covid-19 as well as against other dangerous viruses including the flu."

This is an important sentiment as new variations of the virus show up around the world. Obviously, it will take some time before this drug is approved, if it is for that matter. This week, the company achieved a milestone event triggering a payment from Yi Xin Zhen Duan Jishu (Suzhou) Ltd. concerning Qualgen’s core FastPack® diagnostic System. However, due to its work on a Covid-related drug, some investors view it as a penny stock to watch. Whether or not it is, remains up to you.

Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.

Finally, Northern Dynasty has begun waking up this month. The beaten-down mining stock had faced serious headwinds last year. This was thanks to a bleak outlook on the future of its Pebble Property. However, heading into 2021, the company appears to be working toward a better outcome this year. In January, the company reported the Office of Alaska State Governor Mike Dunleavy issued a statement announcing his administration formally appealed the US Army Corps of Engineers’ November 25, 2020 denial of a key federal permit for Alaska’s Pebble Project.

This began to trigger some bullish ripples in the market for NAK stock. The company also formally submitted a ‘request for appeal’ to the US Army Corps of Engineers concerning its recent issuance of a negative Record of Decision. This week it also posted this to the company’s website. Northern Dynasty President & CEO Ron Thiessen commented, “here are some very compelling arguments persuasively presented in the Pebble Partnership’s RFA, and we encourage all our shareholders and others interested in responsible resource development in Alaska and the United States to review them carefully.”

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With this type of renewed bullish sentiment, speculation has begun driving momentum. The biggest point of focus likely remains if an approval actually materializes for this project. According to the company, the Pebble deposit is one of the greatest mineral wealth stores ever discovered. Northern said that it is “the world's largest undeveloped copper and gold resource.”

Penny Stocks Continue To Rally In 2021

No matter if it’s penny stocks on Reddit, high-volume stocks, specific industry names, or something else, cheap stocks are some of the most sought after. In the stock market today, we’re seeing a rebirth of the retail investor, and they love volatility. Aside from the hyper spikes in names like GameStop and Tesla, we’ve now seen these traders flock to stocks under $5. With momentum in favor of “the little guys,” penny stocks could be a mainstay for the duration of the year.

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