Five Penny Stocks to Buy Now

EXCO Resources Inc (NYSE:XCO)‘s stock has fluctuated between $0.51 and $1.94 over the past 52 weeks. A drop in oil prices led to the company’s revenue declining steadily throughout the past eight quarters, resulting in a drop in stock price. Last month, EXCO Resources Inc (NYSE:XCO) received a continued listing standard notice from the New York Stock Exchange due to a low bid price. The company said it was analyzing its options, including a reverse stock split and measures to improve liquidity such as issuance of more debt and a sale of its properties in South Texas. At the end of 2016, there were 12 funds in our database long Exco Resources, up by one over the quarter. However, the aggregate value of those funds’ positions slid to $103.13 million from $130.82 million and represented 42% of the company’s outstanding stock. Among those funds was Howard Marks‘ Oaktree Capital, which owned 30.77 million shares of EXCO Resources Inc (NYSE:XCO) at the end of 2016.

Quantum Corp (NYSE:QTM), a company engaged in providing data storage, archive and protection solutions, was owned by 16 funds tracked by Insider Monkey heading into 2017. Those funds had amassed $39.42 million worth of its shares as of the end of December, down from $42.89 million worth of stock held by 15 funds a quarter earlier. Over the last year, Quantum Corp (NYSE:QTM)’s stock has advanced by almost 60% as the company managed to post better-than-expected earnings and revenue in each of the last four quarters. During the fourth quarter, Jeffrey Smith’s Starboard Value, one of the 140 Biggest and Most Famous Activist Hedge Funds, cut its stake in Quantum Corp (NYSE:QTM) by 11.45 million shares to 7.65 million shares.

Finally, the most popular penny stock among the investors we track is Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CIE), in which 18 funds held long positions at the end of 2016, unchanged over the quarter. The total value of their holdings dropped to $190.35 million from $280.70 million and represented some 35% of its outstanding stock. Clint Carlson’s Carlson Capital disclosed ownership of 28.67 million shares of Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CIE) in its latest 13F filing. A year ago, Cobalt’s stock was trading north of $3 per share, but has slid into penny stock territory amid weaker-than-expected results. Last year, Cobalt was under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department over its Angola operations. It also failed to sell a 40% stake in two offshore oil blocks in the same country to the state company Sonangol for a proposed $1.75 billion. Earlier this week, Cobalt International Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CIE) said it would have to delay the release of its fourth-quarter and full-year results.

Disclosure: None