In a week in which U.S. markets struggled to gain some footing and then just collapsed again today, the sub-$5 stocks managed to hold their own quite well. Medical and biotech stocks in particular were quite strong this week, despite today’s Nasdaq meltdown, and are well represented in the following group.
Here then are 5 of the top performing stocks below $5 for this week:
Best Stocks Under $5: Hansen Medical, Inc. (HNSN)
2/5/16 Closing Price:$2.93 (+53% for the week)
Hansen Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNSN) is a manufacturer of medical robotics for various types of catheters.
HNSN stock soared this week after the company received clearance to market their Magellan Robotic Catheter ekit, which will be used for minimally invasive radiological procedures in cancer treatment for both men and women. It is also helpful for keeping physicians away from the radiation field.
HNSN stock has been in a long, drawn out decline since April, 2014, when shares were as high as $27.50 a share. Shares climbed up over $5 on Tuesday, before pulling back to current levels. HNSN is now above the 50-day moving average at $2.47, but still well below the 200-day moving average at $5.63.
Best Stocks Under $5: Eyegate Pharmaceuticals Inc (EYEG)
Closing Price:$3.25 (+91% for the week)
Eyegate Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:EYEG) is another biopharmaceutical, engaged in clinical-stage drug delivery systems for various eye diseases.
Eyegate is currently working on a phase 3 clinical trial for Uveitis, which is inflammation of the eye, within the anterior chamber. What makes this company unique isn’t the drugs being given for treatment, but rather the unique delivery system itself, called the Eyegate II, which is a superior alternative to topical eye drops or injections into the eye.
This week, EYEG shot higher after Rodman & Renshaw initiated coverage on Eyegate on Monday, with a “Buy” rating and $10.00 price target. That price target is more than triple EYEG’s current levels.
EYEG has also received “Buy” ratings from Maxim Group and Chardan Capital within the last three months.
Best Stocks Under $5: Anavex Life Sciences Corp (AVXL)
2/5/16 Closing Price:$4.64 (+29% for the week)
Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:AVXL) was a big winner this week, as the company announced that CEO Christopher U. Missling, PhD, will be presenting an overview of the company’s work at the 18th Annual BIO CEO & Investor Conference on Feb. 9 in New York City.
Anavex is yet another biopharmaceutical company, this time developing treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, diseases of the Central Nervous System, and cancer. The company’s ANAVEX 2-73 and ANAVEX PLUS drugs have recently been studied in a Phase 2a clinical trial, in which a combination of drug therapies was said to produce a significantly high reversal of memory loss in patients with Alzheimer’s Disease.
Although this sounds quite promising, investors should take notice that this company has been involved in several class action lawsuits which, according to GlobeNewswire allege that AVXL “misrepresented or failed to disclose that Anavex had used a paid stock promoter to artificially inflate the Company’s stock price.” AVXL stock dropped more than 20% in December after the company received an SEC subpoena regarding unusual price activity.
Best Stocks Under $5: Yamana Gold Inc. (AUY)
2/5/16 Closing Price:$2.29 (+35% for the week)
Yamana Gold Inc. (NYSE:AUY) was one of several gold stocks that shot higher this week, as the U.S. dollar slipped and the price of gold reached a three-month high.
Gold is doing well on the theory that weakness in global economies is sure to keep interest rates down for quite awhile longer.
Toronto-based Yamana Gold will release fourth-quarter earnings results on Feb. 18. AUY stock put in a double bottom near $1.40 in mid January, and is up more than 60% since then.
Best Stocks Under $5: Oclaro, Inc. (OCLR)
2/5/16 Closing Price:$4.30 (+24% for the week)
Oclaro, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCLR) is an optical technology company based in San Jose, Calif. that put in a strong performance this week after reporting second-quarter earnings.
Oclaro reported earnings of 3 cents per share on revenue of $94.1 million. Both of these numbers bested the street estimates of 1 cent per share on $91.3 million. Strong sales in the company’s 100G products accounted for about 20% of the company’s sales growth.
OCLR stock has been a winner over the last four months, as the stock is up nearly 90% over that time. Although it appears a bit overbought at the moment, better times may well be ahead for Oclaro.
As of this writing, Ethan Roberts did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
