Over the last few weeks, our list of the top penny stocks to watch has featured stocks with 100% gains in just a matter of days.
But this week, our top penny stock to watch skyrocketed nearly 300% over the week.
This surging penny stock is a little-known consumer goods company called New Age Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: NBEV).
On Sept. 18, New Age stock soared 103% on reports that Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) is considering a takeover bid for the company.
New Age continued to rally for the rest of the week, closing on Friday at a price of $6.15 - a 286% gain over Monday's opening price.
But after New Age's explosive run last week, there may be little upside left.
After looking at last week's top performing penny stocks, we'll show you a small-cap stock with real growth potential that just popped up on our radar...
| Penny Stock | Current Share Price | Last Week's Gain |
| New Age Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: NBEV) | $3.94 | 286.79% |
| India Globalization Capital Inc. (NYSE: IGC) | $2.18 | 181.55% |
| Ascent Capital Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ASCMA) | $2.16 | 103.85% |
| Netlist Inc. (NASDAQ: NLST) | $0.73 | 80.56% |
| Oragenics Inc. (NYSE: OGEN) | $0.92 | 71.63% |
| Astrotech Corp. (NASDAQ: ASTC) | $3.44 | 68.37% |
| Command Security Corp. (NYSE: MOC) | $2.77 | 51.09% |
| Oasmia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: OASM) | $3.57 | 50.66% |
| NovaBay Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE: NBY) | $2.10 | 48.15% |
| Navidea Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE: NAVB) | $0.25 | 45.72% |
While the gains these stocks made are exciting, they also highlight the danger of investing in penny stocks.
You see, if any penny stock can climb over 287% on good news, it can also fall 50%, 70%, or even 100% just as quickly.
Before making speculative investments, it's important to identify investments with the kind of robust financial health that ensure you're avoiding shell companies or pump-and-dump schemes.
The Best Penny Stock to Buy Right Now
[mmpazkzone name="in-story" network="9794" site="307044" id="137008" type="4"]
AXT Inc. (NASDAQ: AXTI) is a semiconductor company based out of Fremont, Calif.
AXT focuses on creating semiconductor chip substrates by using its proprietary freezing technology.
Substrates are typically made of silicon and are an important component in microchips, lasers, and solar panels.
Thanks to the company's proprietary freezing technology, AXT's substrates are almost twice as efficient as their standard silicon counterparts.
As a result, the company has been able to grow its revenue 50% faster than most of the semiconductor industry. And over the last five years, the company has beaten quarterly earnings estimates by an average of 94.44%.
We don't see that slowing down any time soon. But more importantly, AXT has a perfect VQScore of 4. That makes it a "Buy Now," and it means Wall Street has been overlooking this company's financial performance.
That simply won't last for long.
AXTI currently trades for $7.45 a share, but Wall Street analysts project the stock will rally to $11 a share. And that could be just the beginning.