Top penny stocks to explore in February

Highlights

• Birks Group Inc. (AMEX: BGI) reported an increase in its interim net sales by 3% YoY for the nine weeks ending December 25, 2021.

• Hudson Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: HDSN) has a P/E ratio of 8.56. The stock rose 226% in one year.

• Clinigence Holdings Inc (OTC: CLNH) provides end-to-end Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution for analyzing critical data and managing reports.

Penny stocks are small companies with a market capitalization of less than US$300 million and stock value of not more than US$5. These companies are considered risky investments often because of the lack of adequate market data about their businesses. However, they offer the potential for higher returns and growth over time due to their low stock prices. 

Here we discuss five penny stocks that saw strong returns over the past year.

Birks Group Inc. (AMEX: BGI)

Birks Group Inc is based in Quebec, Canada. The company designs jewelry, gift items, and timepieces. Its highest revenue comes from the retail segment, with around 27 stores in Canada. Its other segments are e-commerce, wholesale, and gold exchange ventures.

The company has a market capitalization of around US$85 million.

On January 11, 2022, the company reported its interim sales results for the nine weeks ending December 25, 2021. The net sales increased by 16.3% YoY.

Also Read: Top 5 retail stocks to keep an eye on in 2022

For the six months ended September 25, 2021, the company booked net sales of US$84.6 million, up 48.4% compared to US$57.03 million in the corresponding period of 2020.

Overall, the net income came in at US$0.99 million or US$0.05 per share diluted against a net loss of US$2.8 million or US$0.16 per share diluted a year ago, an increase of 135%.

Its cash and equivalents were US$2.68 million as of September 25, 2021. 

The stock traded in the range of US$8.77 to US$1.05 in the last 52 weeks and closed at US$4.45 on January 27, 2022.

BGI stock rose around 258% in one year.

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Clinigence Holdings Inc (OTC: CLNH)

The company is based in St. Petersburg, Florida. It plans to expand its medical technology business HealthDatix, an end-to-end Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution for analyzing critical data and managing reports. The company provides cloud service to healthcare providers to provide personalized preventive plans and physician reports to patients.

It has a market capitalization of around US$229 million. 

The company reported sales of US$12.87 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, compared to US$1.19 million in the previous year. It booked a net loss of US$9.09 million or US$0.27 per share diluted compared to a net income of US$0.860 million or US$0.18 per share diluted for the same period in 2020.

The stock closed at US$4.34 on January 27, 2022. It grew around 122% in one year.

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Nanophase Technologies Corp. (OTC: NANX) 

The Romeoville, Illinois-based company produces engineered nanomaterial solutions and sub-micron materials, including sunscreens, architectural coatings, plastic additives, energy, and medical diagnostics. 

The company has a market capitalization of around US$197 million.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the company earned revenue of US$22 million compared to US$12.3 million in the comparable period in 2020.

The net income was US$2.72 million or US$0.06 per share diluted compared to US$0.795 million or US$0.02 per share diluted in the same period of the previous year.

Its cash and cash equivalents were US$1.38 million on September 30, 2021, compared to US$0.957 million on December 31, 2020.

The stock closed at US$2.74 on January 27, 2022. It grew around 199% in one year.

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Hudson Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: HDSN)

The New York-based Hudson Technologies is a manufacturer of commercial air conditioning, processing, and refrigeration systems, and industrial and refrigerant gases. It also runs a web-based real-time monitoring service for refrigeration systems.

It has a current market capitalization of US$148 million and a P/E ratio of 8.56. The forward P/E for one year is 7.55. 

For the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the company reported revenue of US$155 million compared to US$125 million for the comparable period in 2020. Its net income was US$26 million or US$0.56 per share diluted compared to a net loss of US$0.460 million or US$0.01 per share diluted in the same period of 2020.

As of September 30, 2021, its cash and cash equivalents were US$9.5 million.

Its stock traded in the range of US$4.89 to US$1.09 in the last 52 weeks and closed at US$3.39 on January 27, 2022. 

The stock rose 147% in a year.

 Also Read: 5 best US hospital stocks for 2022

 Source - pixabay

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Express, Inc. (NYSE: EXPR)

The Columbus, Ohio-based Express Inc. is an apparel retailer. The company sells apparel and accessories for varied purposes. It sells products through e-commerce, mobile app, and franchisee outlets. 

It has a market capitalization of US$191 million. 

For the thirty-nine weeks ended October 30, 2021, the company booked net sales of US$1.28 billion compared to US$0.778 billion for the same period in 2020. The net loss to the company was US$22 million or US$0.33 per share diluted compared to a net loss of US$352 million or US$5.46 per share diluted for the same period in the previous year.

The cash and cash equivalents were US$36.8 million as of October 30, 2021. 

The stock price moved in the range of US$13.97 to US$1.12 in one year. The stock closed at US$2.9 on January 27. It increased by around 50% in one year.

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Bottomline

Penny stocks are a riskier bet compared to mid and large-cap stocks. Hence, investors should analyze the company fundamentals carefully before investing in stocks.