This new hot penny stocks list looks at three healthcare picks that could serve as a shot in the arm for lethargic portfolios.
Indeed, long-term prospects for healthcare investments are robust thanks to an aging population and expanding pipelines of new products, drugs, devices, and technologies.
Healthcare coverage is on the rise. More coverage means more people will use healthcare services like over-the-counter treatments, specialized drugs, and pricey therapies.
In the endless quest to find the next big cure or treatment, merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the healthcare space remains high. Deal volume and value rose 19% and 92%, respectively, year over year in Q1 2015, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Healthcare deal volume last year hit a record $338 billion amid 1,300 deals, according to Hammond Hanlon Camp LLC, an investment banking firm specializing in the healthcare services industry.
All this is why the following healthcare equities should be on your current hot penny stocks list.
This penny stocks list is comprised of micro-cap companies that trade on major exchanges, not the risky OTC market or Pink Sheets. The trio also trade for a few dollars a share, not a few cents. So this penny stocks list is made up of companies that are bit bigger, thus safer. Yet they still offer the opportunity for some outsized gains from a modest investment.
Today's Hot Penny Stocks List
Penny Stocks List Pick No. 1: OHR Pharmaceutical Inc. (Nasdaq: OHRP) is a pharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapeutics and delivery technologies for the treatment of ocular diseases. Its lead clinical trial is for OHR-102 eye drops, a novel therapeutic product aimed at offering a non-invasive therapy to improve vision.
OHR-102 is being investigated for the treatment of retinal diseases, including wet age-related macular degeneration, retinal vein occlusion, diabetic retinopathy, and diabetic macular edema. Its preclinical pipeline of treatments is for steroid-induced glaucoma, allergies, and retinal disease.
Monday, the New York City-based company announced positive final results from a phase 2 study of OHR-102 in patients with certain conditions. The findings were called a "milestone" for the $96 million market cap company.
Shares soared more than 50% intraday to $3.75 on the news.
Penny Stocks List Pick No. 2: Aoxing Pharmaceutical Co. Inc. (NYSEMKT: AXN) is a specialty pharmaceutical company involved in the research, development, manufacturing, and distribution of various narcotic, pain-management, and addiction treatment pharmaceutical products, primarily in China.
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Principal products include Zhongtongan, an herbal product for oral and dental pain, and Bismuth Potassium Citrate, an oral solution for the treatment of chronic gastritis and stomachache due to excessive stomach acid. In-trial treatments include therapies for chronic cancer pain, colds, and flu, and a product to treat opioid (heroin, morphine, and prescription pain relievers) dependence.
AXN shares rallied some 40% intraday Monday to $1.90 on positive results from its tablets used to treat opioid dependence. If approved, it would be the first such therapy available in the Chinese market for treating opioid-dependent patients.
Drug abuse in China has become a widespread social problem. And it's not just China. International abuse of and addiction to opioids affects the health, social, and economic welfare of all societies. The National Institute of Drug Abuse estimates that between 26.4 million and 36 million people abuse opioids worldwide.
Penny Stocks List Pick No. 3: Roka Bioscience Inc. (Nasdaq: ROKA) is a Warren, N.J.-based
molecular diagnostics company. It focuses on the development and commercialization of molecular technologies for the detection of foodborne pathogens in the United States.
Roka's Atlas instrument is a fully automated molecular diagnostic testing instrument that reduces labor costs and operator error in high-volume foodborne pathogen testing laboratories. Need for the instrument is increasing.
Despite increased food safety measures, the threat of foodborne illness in meat, poultry, seafood, and produce are on the rise. About 48 million people contract some form of food poisoning each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Shares rose 20% to $3.38 intraday Monday as Barber Foods announced the recall of approximately 1,707,494 pounds of frozen, raw stuffed chicken products that may be contaminated with Salmonella.
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Related Articles:
- Hammond Hanlon Camp LLC: Mergers and Acquisitions Trends
- PricewaterhouseCoopers: US Health Services Deal Insights-Q1 2015 Update