Small-cap stocks (aka, penny stocks) are the best place to be when the economy is hot. Big companies are usually diversified behemoths that use the diversification to maintain their earnings and revenue growth in good or bad markets. Penny stocks make hay when the sun shines and in tough times, they batten down the hatches and ride it out as best they can.

Given the fact that the concerns of earlier this year are lifting, this is a good time to use some of your portfolio funds to pick up some quality penny stocks. The ones here are quality companies that have good management teams in place. Many also have a history of navigating any economic gales that may kick up.

There are also a few that have found new and interesting ways to address some demands that are developing in the new digital economy. Either way, these are certainly great choices for the next leg up.

• Denison Mines (NYSEAMERICAN:DNN)
• Express Inc (NYSE:EXPR)
• Gran Tierra Energy (NYSEAMERICAN:GTE)
• HIVE Blockchain Technologies (NASDAQ:HIVE)
• Senseonics Holdings (NYSEAMERICAN:SENS)
• Sify Technologies (NASDAQ:SIFY)
• Crescent Point Energy (NYSE:CPG)

Penny Stocks: Denison Mines (DNN)

There is a lot of buzz that started about a year ago regarding a new generation of nuclear reactors. Certainly the old generation of reactors haven’t exactly consistently delivered on their promises. But the new ones are scalable (they’re not all massive energy plants) and significantly safer than previous generations.

The scalability means they can be dropped in remote areas to maintain a reliable power supply. And because the units are scalable, you can add or remove units depending upon a growing or declining population.

Plus, nuclear power is carbon neutral, which means it’s a fast way to reduce carbon emissions while still providing significant power generation.

One thing that remains a constant with new or old reactors is fuel. DNN is a Canada-based uranium miner. This element isn’t particularly easy to find, and given the demand for it is rising, it’s a good business to be in.

DNN stock has risen 122% year-to-date. And it’s a bit pricey here, but as these new reactors come online — Bill Gates has funded one of the first to go online in Wyoming — demand will get even more attention.

This stock has an “A” rating in my Portfolio Grader.

Express (EXPR)

While many of us are conditioned to think about how baby boomers are the prime movers of the U.S. economy. The fact is, increasingly younger generations are the real spenders.

And when it comes to clothing, there are so many companies to choose from. But many consumers still want to touch and wear clothes before they buy them. And EXPR has them covered with over 600 locations, as well as online shopping.

Not only does it have Express stores throughout the U.S., Mexico and Central America, but it also owns brands like Abercrombie & Fitch, Lane Bryant, Henri Bendel and The Limited.

The stock has gained 289% YTD, but it has dropped more than 30% in the past three months. This is true despite the fact that its recent FY Q3 earnings were very strong and the consumer is out and spending.

This stock has an “A” rating in my Portfolio Grader.

Penny Stocks: Gran Tierra Energy (GTE)

While Ecuador has been in and out of the OPEC cartel over the past 50 years, Colombia never joined. Yet its northern neighbor Venezuela was a founding OPEC member and Ecuador also has significant oil resources.

That’s why there are exploration and production (E&P) companies that have been at work in Colombia for decades. And GTE is a Canada-based E&P that has been working in Colombia and Ecuador for almost a decade now. With big-name multinational energy companies in both countries it has easy access to get its products to market. And as demand increases, so will GTE’s revenues.

GTE stock has gained 111% YTD. And with a $280 million market cap, it may well be an acquisition target as well.

This stock has an “A” rating in my Portfolio Grader.

HIVE Blockchain Technologies (HIVE)

What do you get when you combine cryptocurrencies with ESG investing? HIVE. This Canada-based blockchain miner built its operations to be as carbon neutral as possible. It has one mining operation in Iceland that is powered by the country’s geothermal heat. It also has operations in Canada and Sweden that are powered solely by green energy sources.

HIVE’s goal is to build a bridge between the blockchain and traditional capital markets. If you’re excited about crypto and intrigued by ESG investing, then this is certainly a pick to consider.

HIVE stock is up 48% YTD, although it has lost 27% in the past month. However, with a current price-to-earnings ratio around 11x, it’s still one of the bargain penny stocks out there.

This stock has an “A” rating in my Portfolio Grader.

Penny Stocks: Senseonics (SENS)

Here are a couple sobering numbers for you. More than 10% of U.S. population has some form of diabetes. And another 88 million have prediabetic symptoms. That’s an enormous potential market for any company to serve.

SENS’ sole products are its Eversense and Eversense XL products, which are continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) solutions that you only have to change four to two times a year, respectively. Once the sensor inserted, the patient has real-time monitoring of their glucose levels to avoid hypoglycemic or hyperglycemic events.

But the important piece here is that Eversense is Medicare and Medicaid approved. That means it doesn’t have to account for patients that aren’t covered for a CGM device. Also, by focusing on one particular product, SENS is well positioned to be acquired by a larger company looking for more exposure (or less competition) in this space.

SENS stock has soared 223% YTD and its market cap is now around $1.4 billion. But there’s plenty of headroom for this penny stock.

Sify Technologies (SIFY)

In the digital era, the most important asset is data. Retailers want data on their customers. Businesses want data on their markets and how best to grow their businesses. Data companies want more and richer data to slice and dice. That helped companies around the world become powerful forces.

One market that has been historically tough to invest in is India. As the second-most-populous nation in the world, this has always stymied enthusiastic investors looking to gain exposure there. Wait no more.

SIFY is a data company. It provides internet, telecom, network and e-commerce solutions across India. But it doesn’t have much recognition outside of the country, so its U.S. stock doesn’t get much attention. Well, at least until now.

With a $587 million market cap, its footprint is small. That’s why I feature it here with other quality penny stocks. After all, its potential is huge, either by organic growth or via a takeover.

SIFY stock has risen 144% YTD and has great growth prospects.

This stock has an “B” rating in my Portfolio Grader.

Penny Stocks: Crescent Point Energy (CPG)

This decent sized E&P from Canada largely produces in Saskatchewan. But it does have some exposure to the Bakken Shale as well.

With significant infrastructure spending and recovery from the pandemic underway, energy prices are up and are likely to continue higher. This is great news for CPG since it has fixed costs for getting the black gold out of the ground. The higher market prices go, the bigger the margins it realizes.

What makes CPG unique in the E&P sector right now isn’t that the stock is up 124% YTD. It’s the fact that CPG stock has positive earnings and is trading at a P/E below 2x. And it has a 1.8% dividend.

This stock has an “B” rating in my Portfolio Grader.

On Penny Stocks and Low-Volume Stocks: With only the rarest exceptions, InvestorPlace does not publish commentary about companies that have a market cap of less than $100 million or trade less than 100,000 shares each day. That’s because these “penny stocks” are frequently the playground for scam artists and market manipulators. If we ever do publish commentary on a low-volume stock that may be affected by our commentary, we demand that InvestorPlace.com’s writers disclose this fact and warn readers of the risks.

Read More: Penny Stocks — How to Profit Without Getting Scammed

On the date of publication, Louis Navellier has no positions in any stocks in this article. Louis Navellier did not have (either directly or indirectly) any other positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.

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