Top Penny Stocks To Watch Early Next Week, 1 Up Over 120% In 2021

4 Penny Stocks To Watch Next Week

As the second week of February comes to an end, plenty of penny stocks are still pushing higher. This week serves to highlight some potential areas of potential among small-cap stocks. During the week, several industries such as cannabis and biotech shot up in big numbers. Albeit, both of these industries remain highly volatile, which is quite common anyway. So with this, we have to consider what factors may impact penny stocks in both the short and long-term.

If we put aside the pandemic, for now, other influences such as the Biden Presidency and the subsequent $1.9 trillion stimulus package could affect stock prices. In the short term, we're also witnessing a thematic shift due to the increased influence of retail traders. If we look at the past few months, we see that these traders relied on speculation and sentiment more than fundamentals. And given the collective mindset that retail traders have adopted, it's quite common to see large double-digit percentage gains in specific securities throughout the day.

Now, there are still plenty of less-volatile options when it comes to penny stocks to watch. It's important to consider what industry they’re in and how much news comes out regarding it. This will help determine how volatile a sector may be in the near-term. With all of this in mind, here are four top penny stocks that might be on the watch list starting next week.

Top Penny Stocks to Watch

ALJ Regional Holdings Inc. ALJJ
Pyxis Tankers Inc. PXS
Jianpu Technology Inc. JT
Forward Industries Inc. FORD

Top Penny Stocks To Watch #1: ALJ Regional Holdings Inc.

ALJ Regional Holdings was a big after-hours gainer on Friday, after releasing its Q1 2021 results. The company operates through various subsidiaries, including Faneuil Inc., Floors-N-More, and Phoenix Color Corp. Through these, the company offers several unique services to its customers. On the one hand, ALJ has a large division that operates call center services, staffing, and toll collection.

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This work is done via private and government contracts. On the other hand, the company operates floor covering retailers, book components, and commercial illustrative products. If this list seems extremely broad, you're not alone in thinking that. But, as we see, ALJ Regional Holdings goes where the business is. While these markets are very different, they've all seen substantial revenue throughout the course of the pandemic.

In its Q1 2021 results, the company brought in more than $119 million in revenue. This represents an increase of around 32% over Q1 2020. The company also managed to more than halve its loss per share from $4.3 million to $2.1 million this quarter. Lastly, the company brought an adjusted EBITDA of $6.3 million for the quarter, almost double what it did in the previous year’s same quarter. All of these numbers add up to show that ALJ Regional Holdings could be in a position for growth. Obviously, it will take some time to see if it can continue growing at this rate. In the meantime, however, ALJJ could be one of the penny stocks to watch next week.

#2: Pyxis Tankers Inc.

As its name suggests, Pyxis Tankers works in the maritime transportation industry. The company has a firm focus on the U.S., providing transportation services for an extensive range of products. This includes gasoline, diesel, bulk items, organic chemicals, and more. While shipping definitely declined early in the pandemic, the demand for these services has steadily increased in the past few months. Because PXS stock tends to shift in correlation with the energy industry, it has seen more bullish interest in 2021 than usual. Pyxis operates five double-hull product tankers. In its financial report released in November of 2020, Valentios Valentis, CEO of Pyxis, made a statement regarding the company.

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“The chartering environment for product tankers in the third quarter of 2020 continued to be very challenging, reflecting the normal seasonal softness which was further compounded by the negative impact of Covid-19 on demand for refined petroleum products. In November, we typically start to experience a seasonal boost in demand due to the movement of home heating oil cargoes and weather delays."

This sentiment seems to illustrate that the demand for its services is cloudy in the near-term. However, the energy sector is expected to grow slowly as virus cases decline. Because of its relationship to energy, traders should keep an eye on oil and gas demand moving forward.

#3: Jianpu Technology Inc.

Another tech penny stock of interest is Jianpu Technology Inc. The company provides an online discovery and recommendation platform for use in the financial services industry in China. Its products allow users to gain insight into a broad range of consumer financial needs. This includes credit card applications, wealth management products, and loans, among others. Also, the company provides marketing and sales data to its customers. While Jianpu doesn't put out that much information regularly, let's take a look at some announcements from the past few months.

Last month, the company received an extension from the NYSE regarding the delayed filing of its Form 20F. The company has been working with the NYSE to get this data in as quickly as possible. Now, it has until July of this year to complete it. At $4.46 per share as of Friday, February 12th, Jianpu looks like it has attempted moving out of penny stock territory. And with wealth in China growing substantially over the past decade, financial services like the ones that Jianpu offer are seeing increased demand.

We do have to consider the past and continued effects of the pandemic on the world economy. But, China looks like it has managed to get its case numbers under control. Whether or not and how this affects JT stock remains to be seen in the short term. Something that may be of interest, however, is a filing last week. In an amended 13G, Morgan Stanley showed an 8.4% stake in JT stock. Will institutional interest remain a driving force behind JT’s recent surge of momentum?

#4: Forward Industries Inc.

On Friday, February 12th, FORD stock rocketed closed around $4.20, carrying it through another positive week. Shares have climbed considerably during 2021 so far and are now up over 120% year-to-date as of this latest close. So what's driving FORD stock, and no, we're not talking about the automaker. Before we begin, let's take a look at what Forward Industries does.

The company designs and distributes protective solutions for electronic devices. This includes carrying cases, and more recently, medical diagnostic and testing kits. Forward also provides an extensive range of utility devices such as GPS location devices, bar code scanners, and more. It offers these products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia; as you can see, it is quite broad in how it operates.

With more people than ever utilizing these devices, FORD stock has seen heightened popularity in the past few months. Friday afternoon Forward Industries reported its Q1 2021 fiscal results, which were much better than expected. In the results, revenue came in at around $9.7 million. This represents a more than 15% gain from the same quarter of the previous year. What's more, its gross margin shot up to 23.3% from 20% in Q1 2020. Lastly, net income shot up to $1.2 million, which is quite a big jump over the net loss of $82,000 it took in last year during the first quarter.

In addition, the company’s Non-Executive Lead Director, Sangita Shah reported a 5.3% stake in the company via a 13G filing on Friday.

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