5 Penny Stocks To Watch This Week As Biotech Takes Spotlight - Acasti Pharma (NASDAQ:ACST)

Are These 5 Biotech Penny Stocks Worth Watching?

With the extraordinary times we live in, Covid has resulted in a large investor focus on biotech penny stocks. Within the stock market, there's no shortage of interesting biotech companies to choose from. In 2021, it's best to divide biotech penny stocks into ones working on a covid-treatment and ones that aren't. While neither of these will help to avoid volatility, this is a good way to break up one’s research as vaccine headlines tend to enhance volatility in certain circumstances.

Speculation has always been a major pull for investors. One thing to keep in mind is that whether a company has a medical device or breakthrough pharmaceutical, it will need to be approved by the FDA. This process can take years and involves a great deal of capital. With this, investors should know the ins and outs of the company they plan to invest in. This lengthy process can be a tool for both investors & day traders to use. Each phase update, trial initiation, interim data announcement, etc. can act as its own catalyst.

Heading into the second full week of March, hopes are high that the markets begin turning around. For biotech penny stocks, in particular, this week could be an active one as several industry conferences are set to commence. Companies will be presenting data and giving presentations on their pipelines.

In particular, the Chardan Microbiome Medicines Summit kicks things off on Monday, with H.C. Wainwright’s Global Life Sciences & Barclays Global Healthcare Conference carrying through the remainder of the week until the 11th. We’ve also got a slew of biotech earnings to track, which could also highlight the broader industry. With this in mind, let’s take a look at 5 biotech penny stocks to watch as markets attempt to recover this week.

Biotech Penny Stocks to Watch This Week

Iterum Therapeutics PLC ITRM
Acasti Pharma Inc. ACST
SINTX Technologies Inc. SINT
Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp. TNXP
Anchiano Therapeutics ANCN

Penny Stocks To Watch #1: Iterum Therapeutics PLC

Iterum Therapeutics is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company. It works on producing anti-infectives to help solve drug-resistant pathogenic illnesses. Right now, its most notable substance is known as sulopenem. This is a novel compound that can be used either intravenously or orally and is currently in Phase 3 clinical trials to see if it can be more effective than traditional antibiotics.

Additionally, the company has received a Qualified Infectious Disease Product and Fast Track designation for seven indications related to sulopenem. Iterum plans to release its fourth-quarter financial results on March 12th during pre-market. Ahead of this, let's take a closer look at what ITRM is up to right now.

A few weeks ago, the company engaged in a $35 million at the market direct offering. Additionally, it upsized a previously announced bought deal offering to roughly $40 million. This capital will support the review of its New Drug Application for oral sulopenem in several indications, among other things.

Something else to note is a partnership that the company signed into with EVERSANA to provide commercial services for its UTI treatment indication of sulopenem. CEO Corey Fishman stated that "we are very pleased to partner with EVERSANA and are confident in their ability to provide end-to-end services to ensure oral sulopenem will reach patients and their families efficiently and effectively once oral sulopenem is available for prescribing."

#2: Acasti Pharma Inc.

Acasti is a company that we've discussed numerous times in the past few months. Following the release of its Q3 2021 financial results a few weeks ago, investors began taking notice. Acasti lowered its net loss from more than $8.2 million in Q3 2020 to $3.2 million in this most recent quarter. Additionally, Acasti posted more than $26.5 million in cash and cash equivalents, vastly improving its financial situation. Over the past year, the company has been working on research for its CaPre compound. This compound could have the potential to lower OM3 fatty acids to treat hypertriglyceridemia. CaPre is a phospholipid that utilizes OM3 as its base.

Read More

However, in its study, CaPre did not record statistical significance. This is where the company engaged Oppenheimer & Co, Inc. to be its financial advisor moving forward to identify strategic alternatives. Although no new news has come to light regarding this, it seems as though it is still in the works.

It’s no secret that the last few weeks have been rough for ACST stock. After reaching new 52 week highs of $1.22, shares have been in a perpetual decline. The penny stock reached lows of $0.48 on Friday as the market sold off but promptly bounced strongly into the close, hitting highs of $0.6595. With this momentum, it will be interesting to see if ACST shares can continue down the recovery path this week.

Penny Stocks To Watch #3: SINTX Technologies Inc.

While the other penny stocks on this list have been mostly pharmaceutical, SINTX works as a medical device developer of sorts. It designs and researches biomaterials utilizing silicon-nitride and ceramic to create various implant products. This includes those used in cervical and thoracolumbar spine injuries. A few days ago, it announced the submission of a master access file to the FDA for its silicon nitride-polymer composite material known as SN-PEEK.

SINTX states that through the R&D of the process, it learned how to create more cost-effective and simpler ways to utilize the material. Also, it states that SN-PEEK could be a next-generation product with a myriad of uses. In February, SINTX announced an agreement with O2TODAY, a mask producer, to provide masks that utilize SINTX's silicon nitride product.

This product used in masks could help to inactivate pathogens and thus reduce the transmission of diseases like Covid-19. Bruce Lorange, CEO of O2TODAY, stated that "we are thrilled to enter this agreement with SINTX Technologies, a company that has a remarkable history of conducting the science and developing products based on silicon nitride and its various formulations. We are passionate about respiratory health, and have been an innovator in the design, and manufacturing of protective face wear that reduces exposure to airborne threats since 2015."

With case numbers continuing to fluctuate, personal protective products like face masks are likely to remain a key point of interest. While things like vaccines are great, most places still require mask-wearing. In light of this, SINTX’s ability to design a product with an added layer of anti-transmission via the silicon-nitride may put it in the spotlight.

#4: Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp.

On March 4th, Tonix announced that it had regained compliance with the NASDAQ minimum bid price requirement. Because it is no longer at risk of being de-listed, investors are showing heightened interest in TNXP stock. The biopharmaceutical company produces both small molecules and biologics to help prevent diseases. The company is heavily focusing on central nervous system disorders as well as immunology-related products. Its lead drug candidate right now is a compound known as TNX-102 SL. Currently, this is in Phase 3 development to see if it can treat fibromyalgia-related symptoms.

In addition to this trial, data released from its RELIEF Phase 3 trial recently showed high positivity for the compound. And while this is definitely worth noting, the company is also studying a vaccine candidate for Covid-19 known as TNX-1800. This is a live replicating vaccine that utilizes the same platform as the horsepox viral vector. In recent research, Tonix has worked to gain data with animal studies.

It expects to have the topline data from this study by the end of the first quarter of 2021. In addition to this, Tonix recently licensed technology for treating Prader-Willi syndrome from the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM). CEO of Tonix, Seth Lederman, stated that "Prader-Willi syndrome is a rare genetic disorder of failure to thrive in infancy and uncontrolled appetite and obesity in childhood and adulthood with no approved treatments available."

Similar to ACST, TNXP stock has been on the decline for weeks. However, after Friday’s early morning sell-off, shares ended up bouncing back by more than 100% into the close. So it will be interesting to see if that same trend continues Monday morning.

#5: Anchiano Therapeutics

Mergers and acquisitions are always a big topic of discussion when it comes to biotech. This has been the case, especially for immunotherapy companies. If you recall, Merck MRK bought cancer drug research company VelosBio Inc. from Pappas Capital and other investors for $2.75 billion. Last September, Gilead Sciences GILD acquired Immunomedics for a cool $21 billion to gain access to a breast cancer treatment, Trodelvy. Why mention this?

Anchiano Therapeutics has been at the center of speculation for months. As you’ll see on its chart, there hasn’t been any shortage of big moves either. However, you’ll also see that these moves haven’t been sustainable in the least—one of the big reasons why is, of course, a pending merger. The company and Chemomab Ltd. announced entry into a definitive merger agreement late last year. Ultimately, Chemomab would become the majority holder of the combined company. The proposed merger was intended to create a company focused on advancing Chemomab's lead product, CM-101. While Anchiano has focused on cancer treatment, CM-101 is being evaluated in treating things like liver diseases.

While no news or filings have come out anytime recently, Friday’s action was very noticeable, to say the least. Not only did ANCN stock trade some of its highest volume all year, that momentum continued to escalate into the close. One of the things to follow right now is progress leading up to the big March 15th date. This is the date that a special shareholder meeting will be held to vote on the proposed merger. If approved, the company will trade under the symbol “CMMB” and change its name to Chemomab Therapeutics Ltd.

Biotech Penny Stocks & Volatility

Novel treatments and positive data are big attractions to biotech penny stocks. But don’t forget that we’re talking about early-stage companies. While one phase may report favorable data, another could miss the mark, sending stocks spiraling lower. Not only that, but you still have your “traditional” catalysts to look for in things like earnings. So if biotech penny stocks are your focus, don’t forget to account for this enhanced volatility. Heading into the new week, let’s see if any of these names make their mark on the market.

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs