Just what the heck are penny stocks? If you’re asking yourself that question, you’ve come to the right place. More than likely, you’re probably new to trading stocks. Penny stocks, as defined by the SEC, are shares of public companies that trader for fewer than $5. Pretty simple, right?

Penny stocks have shown time and time again in 2020 to be some of the biggest short-term runners in the market as their potential for breakouts have been downright stunning. It seems like every week now, we’re seeing at least one penny stock going on a $10, 15, or even $20 run from an under $5 start. This could be due to several reasons, but one that stands out is volatility.

Read More: Here Are 3 Penny Stocks With Big News To Watch Closely Today

Volatility comes into the cards when a company releases a potentially strong headline that starts to bring in buzz/momentum to its stock. News can be one of the biggest potential catalysts out there. Even if a stocks fundamentals don’t look great, or its chart isn’t the prettiest, a major headline can be enough to shoot a stock up the charts. Here are a handful of penny stocks to keep an eye on to start the week. Each has major recent news to check out right now.

Your No. 1 Penny Stock To Watch To Start The Week: Kazia Therapeutics Limited

Kazia Therapeutics Limited (Nasdaq: KZIA), an oncology-focused biotechnology company, develops anti-cancer drugs. Its lead development candidate is GDC-0084, a small molecule, brain-penetrant inhibitor of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, which is developed as a potential therapy for glioblastoma. The company is also developing Cantrixil, which is being developed for the treatment of ovarian cancer and is in hospitals across Australia and the United States under an Investigational New Drug application.

Kazia Therapeutics Limited is pleased to share poster presentations of interim data from the ongoing phase II study of paxalisib (formerly GDC-0084) in glioblastoma, the most common and most aggressive form of primary brain cancer, and from the phase I study of Cantrixil in ovarian cancer.

Key Points

• Previous paxalisib data presented at ASCO was based on Stage 1 (n=9) of the ongoing phase II study in glioblastoma. This interim analysis at AACR includes all patients in the study (n=30), and therefore provides a more robust and substantial data set
• Progression-free survival (PFS) for paxalisib is 8.5 months, versus 8.4 months in the previous analysis
• Paxalisib overall survival (OS) remains at 17.7 months, in line with ASCO data
• A separate poster on the investigator-initiated study of paxalisib in combination with radiotherapy is presented by clinicians at Memorial Sloan
• Kettering Cancer Center in New York. It noted a ‘robust response’ in the first treated patient
• Cantrixil data shows one complete response (CR) to treatment, meaning no measurable disease, and two partial responses (PR), for an overall response rate of 19% (3 / 16 evaluable patients)

Kazia CEO, Dr James Garner, commented, “The data summarized in these posters help to strengthen our confidence in both our clinical programs. As paxalisib moves towards commencement of the GBM AGILE pivotal study in the second half of calendar 2020, these findings will be used to support set-up activities. In the meantime, the fact that the PFS has remained robust as the analysis is extended out to the full data set gives us a great deal of additional confidence in the efficacy signal it provides. For Cantrixil, the emergence of one complete responder (CR) to treatment is very positive, and these new results will help us to explore partnering opportunities over the second half of the year.”

Your No. 2 Penny Stock To Watch To Start The Week: Evelo Biosciences, Inc.

Evelo Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: EVLO), a biotechnology company, focuses on the development of monocolonal microbials for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and cancer. It is involved in developing EDP1066 and EDP1815, which are in Phase 1b placebo-controlled dose-escalating safety and tolerability clinical study for the treatment of atopic dermatitis, asthma, psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel diseases. The company is also involved in developing EDP150, a monoclonal microbial candidate, which is in Phase 1/2 clinical study for the treatment of colorectal cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, and melanoma, as well as patients who have relapsed on prior PD-1/L1 inhibitor treatment across multiple tumor types.

Evelo Biosciences, Inc. announced that EDP1815 will be included in the TACTIC-E clinical trial. The trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of certain experimental therapies in the prevention and treatment of life-threatening complications associated with COVID-19 in hospitalized patients at early stages of the disease. The trial’s lead investigator is Dr. Joseph Cheriyan, Consultant Clinical Pharmacologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, and is sponsored by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Dr. Cheriyan said, “This is a critical time in the fight against COVID-19, and I am delighted that Cambridge is playing a key role in this. TACTIC-E will test the effectiveness of a number of experimental medicines in patients admitted to hospital, with a strong focus on identifying novel and clinically useful drugs early on. It will collect high quality data that can be used by our partner pharmaceutical companies to potentially seek approvals for widespread international use. We have opted to investigate EDP1815 in this trial given the tolerability and the modulation of multiple inflammatory pathways observed in a Phase 1b clinical trial for psoriasis. We look forward to evaluating EDP1815 as part of TACTIC-E.”

TACTIC-E is a Phase 2/3 randomised trial which will evaluate up to 469 patients per arm at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and other leading UK clinical centres. The trial will enroll patients with COVID-19 who have identified risk factors for developing severe complications and are at risk of progression to the intensive care unit or death. Eligible patients will be randomised equally to either one of the active arms or treated with standard of care alone. Patients in arm 1 will be dosed with EDP1815 in addition to standard of care; patients in arm 2 will be dosed with a combination of ambrisentan and dapagliflozin in addition to standard of care; and patients in arm 3 will be treated with standard of care only. The primary outcome measure is a reduction in the number of patients who develop severe complications of organ failure, ventilation, or death. Secondary outcome measures include duration of stay in hospital, duration of oxygen therapy, changes in biomarkers associated with COVID-19 progression, and time to clinical improvement. Interim analyses will be performed over the course of the trial to evaluate results for signals of safety and efficacy.

Interim data from the trial are anticipated during the fourth quarter of 2020. If the Phase 2/3 data are positive, Evelo plans to engage in discussions with global regulatory agencies to determine if the data support registration.

Your No. 3 Penny Stock To Watch To Start The Week: FSD Pharma Inc.

SINTX Technologies (Nasdaq: SINT) is an OEM ceramics company that develops and commercializes silicon nitride for medical and non-medical applications. The core strength of SINTX Technologies is the manufacturing, research, and development of silicon nitride ceramics for external partners. The Company manufactures silicon nitride material and components in its FDA registered and ISO 13485 certified facility.

SINTX Technologies, Inc. announced that in a controlled laboratory study, the SARS-CoV-2 virus was inactivated when exposed to SINTX’s sintered silicon nitride powder. The Company expects to share additional data soon, once the findings are published in a rapid-review forum.

“The preliminary results are encouraging,” said Dr. Sonny Bal, CEO of SINTX. “The antiviral data are consistent with the well-established anti-bacterial properties of SINTX’s silicon nitride, and with previously reported effectiveness against several single-strand RNA viruses. Additional testing at independent, outside laboratories is in progress to corroborate the effectiveness of silicon nitride against SARS-CoV-2.”

SINTX is committed to the scientific integrity of its R&D programs and has invested heavily in the careful verification of its reported findings. No representations are made as to the effectiveness of silicon nitride in consumer products, whether medical or otherwise.