Editor’s note: This article was updated on July 8 to correct the spelling of Oragenics.
When it comes to Robinhood stocks, investors are liable to think of those “meme” stocks that remain an ongoing phenomenon. But the trading app has also raised the profile of many penny stocks, not just those well-beloved by the Reddit crowd.
The definition of a penny stock has changed greatly over the years. Nowadays, it generally means stocks that can be purchased for under $5. However, the original meaning of the term was referring to stocks that you could buy for less than a dollar and often for significantly less than that (i.e., for pennies).
These are typically small-cap or even micro-cap companies that are hoping investors will buy into their potential. And while there have been some notable companies that started off as penny stocks, many penny stocks are penny stocks for a reason.
With that in mind, here are 7 trend-worthy Robinhood stocks that investors can buy for less than $1.
- Almaden Minerals (NYSEMKT:AAU)
- Great Panther Mining (NYSEMKT:GPL)
- Superior Drilling Products (NYSEMKT:SDPI)
- Camber Energy (NYSEMKT:CEI)
- Oragenics (NYSEMKT:OGEN)
- Cyren (NASDAQ:CYRN)
- Inuvo (NYSEMKT:INUV)
Penny stocks remain one of the most speculative asset classes. Nevertheless, if you have some room in your portfolio for a little gambling, you can make money in penny stocks that are in line with existing trends.
Robinhood Stocks to Buy Under $1: Almaden Minerals (AAU)
The first of our Robinhood stocks is a Canadian mining stock, Almaden Minerals. The bullish case for AAU stock comes down to its ability to successfully launch its Ixtaca project in Mexico. With mining stocks it’s all about the math. And the math of the Ixtaca project is very favorable given the current price of metals.
Currently the project is bogged down in legal issues that are delaying Almaden from receiving a permit. And that delay is weighing on AAU stock. A decision isn’t expected until late 2022 or even into 2023. And while a negative ruling wouldn’t necessarily be a fatal blow to the project, it would delay development for many years.
Analysts suggest that Almaden could earn an after-tax net present value (NPV) of 5%, which works out to over $800 million. Almaden currently has a market cap of approximately $69 million. If the company is successful in obtaining the necessary permits, the AAU stock price and market cap would likely move significantly higher, which would offset potentially high CAPEX spending.
Great Panther Mining (GPL)
The next stock on our list is also a Canadian mining company. Great Panther Mining was trading above 90 cents a share at the beginning of the year. But the company is experiencing a delay at one of its key projects and isn’t expected to restart mining operations until at least the third quarter.
That’s news investors in mining stocks are loath to hear. Nevertheless, that news broke in late May. If GPL stock has found a bottom, this may be an intriguing play on the way back up. The company is mining gold at the mine in question and gold prices are on the rise as uncertainty in the dollar remains high.
With that in mind, it may be best to leave Great Panther on your watch list. However, for what it’s worth, the three analysts that cover GPL stock give it a “buy” rating with the potential for the stock to rise over 200% above current levels.
Superior Drilling Products (SDPI)
Shifting to drilling and exploration of a different sort bring us to Superior Drilling Products. Our current economic recovery is being driven (at least in part) by traditional fossil fuels. And as oil prices rise, so do the fortunes of oil and gas exploration companies.
Superior Drilling Products has been making major moves since the start of the year. SDPI stock is up more than 58% in 2021 and up nearly 8% in the last month making it a strong momentum play.
The risk-reward proposition is simple. Larger oil companies will generate more revenue, but it will be offset by the cost of operations. However, with a market cap of $24 million, SDPI stock has a chance to generate outsize gains as long as there is strong demand for oil. And analysts believe that is likely to happen, with revenue projected to grow 40% in this quarter and 57% in the following quarter.
Camber Energy (CEI)
Another of the Robinhood stocks making moves as an energy penny stock is Camber Energy. The catalyst for Camber Energy’s growth was an announcement that it will merge with Viking Energy Group (OTCMKTS:VKIND).
Camber already owns a 62% interest in Viking Energy. And Viking just posted a solid quarter with over $10 million in revenue. As of this writing, no date had been set for the finalization of the merger.
Penny stocks that trade below $1 can face the threat of delisting. And so, despite the positive bump CEI stock received from the merger announcement, it gave up most of the gains after it received a delisting notice in late May.
However, with oil prices climbing to $75 per barrel, it appears that investors are taking a renewed interest in the stock: CEI stock is up over 10% in the last month. Traders should take care when opening a position given a recent spike in short interest in the stock.
Oragenics (OGEN)
If you still have some curiosity about the future of Covid-19 vaccines, you may want to make a speculative bet on Oragenics. This small-cap biotech company has a Covid-19 vaccine candidate Terra CoV-2 that contains an adjuvant that could boost the vaccine’s effectiveness while being able to administer a smaller dose.
The risk-reward setup for this penny stock is pretty simple. If a significant percentage of Americans remain unvaccinated, there may be an opportunity for Oragenics to deliver an alternative that may alleviate some of the current concerns. It’s less clear if Terra CoV-2 would be a potential booster shot alternative for individuals who have already received an existing vaccine, but that is a possibility.
At this time, Oragenics does not have any other products in its pipeline, so there can be sizable risk if Terra CoV-2 does not receive FDA approval once it gets through the clinical trial stage.
OGEN stock is up 31% for the year so far.
Cyren (CYRN)
Cybersecurity will be an investable theme for the next decade. And a major catalyst will be remote work. While what the remote/in-office balance will look like remains unknown, you can be sure keeping information secure will be top priority. And Cyren, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, provides the email security and threat intelligence solutions businesses are looking for.
So far in 2021, we’ve seen the importance of the kind of services that Cyren provides. The series of cyberattacks that started in March exposed email and other communications information at several government agencies.
But I would caution investors thinking about jumping on CYRN stock. You’re likely on your own. While penny stocks generally draw only a small fraction of interest from institutional investors, Cyren isn’t drawing much attention at all.
CYRN stock is down 31% for the year. However, it’s up over 11% in the last month, suggesting that the stock may have found a bottom.
Inuvo (INUV)
The last of the Robinhood stocks to make my list is Inuvo, a play on the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. This company delivers AI-driven commerce solutions through its IntentKey, a programmatic media solution powered by patented AI-generated proprietary audience data. The patented technology provides brands the ability to reach incremental audiences generating more high-quality leads.
In late February, Inuvo announced an agreement between subsidiary Vertro and Alphabet’s Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL). This will allow the company to use Google’s WebSearch Service and AdSense For Search on select websites.
Although INUV stock didn’t hold that move over $1, it is still up 100% in 2021. And although the stock is lightly covered by analysts, the two analysts give it a buy rating with a consensus price target of $1.75 that would be a gain of over 86% from its current price.
On the date of publication, Chris Markoch did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
Chris Markoch is a freelance financial copywriter who has been covering the market for seven years. He has been writing for InvestorPlace since 2019.
