Below we present the list of 5 Best Debt Free Penny Stocks To Buy Now. For our methodology and a more comprehensive list please see 10 Best Debt Free Penny Stocks To Buy Now.
5. International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (NYSE:THM)
Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders: 5
Value of Hedge Funds’ THM Holdings: $35.6 million
Billionaire money manager John Paulson has been the leading shareholder of International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (NYSE:THM) for more than a decade. Other long-time bulls of the company include Eric Sprott’s Sprott Asset Management and David Iben’s Kopernik Global Investors. Aside from those three funds, there’s been very little smart money interest in the stock in recent years.
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (NYSE:THM) is one of several debt-free mining companies to make this list. The Canadian company’s flagship asset is its full ownership stake in the Livengood Gold Project in Alaska, which has 20.5 million ounces of proven gold reserves and measured gold resources.
While the asset has strong potential, International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (NYSE:THM) has been held back in developing it by the hefty CapEx requirements needed to get it off the ground and running, as well as the modest projected production volumes for the site that make it unfeasible at lower gold prices. With prices now above $2,070 an ounce, the project should be poised for forward momentum.
4. Forte Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBRX)
Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders: 6
Value of Hedge Funds’ FBRX Holdings: $7.75 million
Like Quince Therapeutics in the first half of this article, Forte Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBRX) represents another cautionary tale about investing in early-stage biotech companies. FBRX shares traded for more than $260 at their peak in May 2017, but have crashed to less than $0.50 in the six-and-a-half years since. Much of that damage was inflicted between May to September 2019, when they fell from $150 to $11.
Six hedge funds were long Forte Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBRX) on September 30, down from a peak of 19 in the first quarter of 2021.Of interest is that several funds built much larger positions in FBRX during Q3 than what any fund owned as of June 30. Eashwar Krishnan’s Tybourne Capital Management and Joseph Edelman’s Perceptive Advisors were among the funds that added millions worth of FBRX shares to their 13F portfolios during Q3.
Forte Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBRX) shares have traded at a steep discount to the company’s cash position alone in recent years, which prompted several notable shareholders to push for changes on the company’s board. Forte defeated those challengers in part by conducting a dilutive equity capital raise that put more cheap shares into the hands of board backers, a move that was criticized by investment firm Camac Partners as being unjustifiable from a business standpoint. Forte hopes to launch a human clinical trial of its lead product candidate FB-102 early next year.
3. AERWINS Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:AWIN)
Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders: 6
Value of Hedge Funds’ AWIN Holdings: $39.4k
There’s been a noteworthy decline in hedge fund ownership of AERWINS Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:AWIN) in recent quarters, as just six funds are long AWIN as of September 30, down from 17 in the middle of 2022. That’s not surprising given that AWIN topped the list of the 5 Worst Performing Tech Stocks in 2023, having lost 98.8% of its value this year.
AERWINS Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:AWIN) went public last year through an SPAC merger and tantalized investors with its forward-thinking drone management system COSMOS and its hoverbike xTurismo. However, sales have been falling year-over-year in 2023 and AERWINS has been burning money, which is likely to force dilutive equity raises at the worst possible time (when the stock is already trading for mere pennies).
There also isn’t a clear path forward for AERWINS Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:AWIN)’s ultra-expensive hoverbike, which is expected to retail for over $700,000,and the market has soured on just how much demand there will actually be for the product. That said, AWIN shares are dirt cheap and there still exists at least a faint glimmer of potential for the company in two intriguing fields, which could compel some investors to take a flyer on it.
2. Trilogy Metals Inc. (NYSE:TMQ)
Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders: 6
Value of Hedge Funds’ TMQ Holdings: $9.01 million
Hedge fund ownership of Trilogy Metals Inc. (NYSE:TMQ) was flat quarter-over-quarter, as major shareholders like John Paulson and Seth Klarman retained their positions in the Canadian mining company. Paulson’s fund Paulson and Co. owned over 14.3 million TMQ shares on September 30, while Klarman’s Baupost Group owned 2.33 million.
The fourth and final mining company to make the list of best debt-free penny stocks, Trilogy Metals Inc. (NYSE:TMQ) is in the process of developing the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects in Alaska alongside joint venture partner South32 Limited. One of the venture’s key areas of exploration and development in the region is the Bornite copper-cobalt project, which boasts 6.5 billion pounds of copper.
It was discovered recently that the Bornite site also contains germanium, which could be extracted as a by-product of the copper production at the site. There is rising global demand for germanium from the tech sector and limited supply, which makes its presence at Bornite a potential coup for Trilogy Metals Inc. (NYSE:TMQ).
1. YS Biopharma Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ:YS)
Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders: 14
Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings: $4.43 million
Easily topping the list of debt free penny stocks to buy now according to hedge funds is YS Biopharma Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ:YS),which was owned by more than twice as many funds on September 30 as any other stock that made this list. Samuel Isaly’s OrbiMed Advisors held the largest stake in YS among those funds, with more than 4.54 million shares of the company in its 13F portfolio.
YS Biopharma Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ:YS), a Beijing-based biopharmaceutical company, has raised more than $200 million from several industry-focused investment firms, including the aforementioned OrbiMed Advisors, giving the company a lengthy runway as it continues to develop its Hepatitis B Virus immunotherapy vaccine PIKA YS-HBV-002.
YS Biopharma Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ:YS) has acquired a U.S. patent for the treatment, which has the potential to be a game changer in treating Hepatitis B, for which there are currently few good options. The Chinese company is likely to pursue an Investigational New Drug application in the near future, with the ultimate goal of launching a clinical trial for PIKA YS-HBV-002 at some point next year.
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