This month, the 10 biotech penny stocks on our watch list are all up more than 39%. One of them is up more than 130% in the past 30 days.
In addition to this list today, we have a small-cap biotech stock for Money Morning Members that could gain more than 100% in the next 12 months.
Here's the list of the top 10 biotech penny stock gainers for the month…
| Company (ticker) | % Monthly Gain | Price |
| Aptose Biosciences Inc. (Nasdaq: APTO) | 39.25% | $1.59 |
| Marinus Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: MRNS) | 45.59% | $1.91 |
| Capricor Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: CAPR) | 45.90% | $0.97 |
| Bioblast Pharma Ltd. (Nasdaq: ORPN) | 49.65% | $0.65 |
| Opexa Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: OPXA) | 50.34% | $0.89 |
| Verastem Inc. (Nasdaq: VSTM) | 53.88% | $3.57 |
| Biostage Inc. (Nasdaq: BSTG) | 56.79% | $0.47 |
| Moleculin Biotech Inc. (Nasdaq: MBRX) | 82.73% | $2.32 |
| AVEO Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: AVEO) | 100.00% | $2.47 |
| Aeterna Zentaris Inc. (Nasdaq: AEZS) | 133.16% | $2.10 |
While these monthly gains are tempting, they likely won't last. Penny stocks (stocks trading under $5 a share) are extremely volatile, making them too risky for most retail investors.
On top of being highly volatile, penny stocks typically have lower trading volumes. This increases risk because it is hard to buy or sell the stock at the price you are targeting. If the share price falls dramatically, you may have a hard time finding a buyer for your shares.
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For example, Bioblast (No. 4 on today's list) has an average trading volume of just 131,836 shares per day. The stock we are recommending has an average trading volume that's almost four times larger at 508,991 shares per day.
And being a small-cap stock, there is plenty of room for growth. In fact, one analyst sees the stock more than doubling in the next year…
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