We recently compiled a list of the 7 Best Nanotech Penny Stocks to Buy. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Lightwave Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWLG) stands against the other the Best Nanotech Penny Stock to Buy.

Market Outlook and Investment Opportunities

The Federal Reserve’s recent half-point rate cut is expected to benefit small-cap stocks more than large-caps due to their floating-rate debt. Oxford Economics analysts believe small caps could thrive in easier economic conditions and with reduced borrowing costs. Eduardo Lecubarri of J.P. Morgan sees a “generational opportunity” in small to mid-cap stocks, emphasizing the importance of selecting stocks with pricing power and achievable earnings growth. With the economy stabilizing, small to mid-cap stocks offer significant investment potential.

Investors should brace themselves for further gains even as market indices flirt with record highs. Those are sentiments echoed by analysts at Goldman Sachs, who are confident of the S&P 500 powering through the 6,000 level. Earnings growth and a favorable interest rate environment are some of the factors that should lift the market heading into the year-end.

“Our forward EPS estimates reflect a steady macro outlook,” chief U.S. equity strategist David Kostin wrote. “The macro backdrop remains conducive to modest margin expansion, with prices charged outpacing input cost growth.”

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The sentiments come amid growing concerns that valuations are increasingly getting out of hand. After one of the longest Bull Runs, fueled by a resilient US economy, artificial intelligence, and earnings growth, most stocks are trading at a premium.

Nevertheless, most analysts believe there is still room for more gains as the investment environment improves. While the tech trade lost some steam over the summer, the market is still open to risk-reward opportunities, especially when counters are trading at highly discounted valuations. The tech industry rose by a partial 2.6% in the third quarter, lagging the S&P 500, up 5.5%, which signals the need to look into other sectors for investment opportunities.

While it’s becoming increasingly clear that the fourth industrial revolution will be spearheaded by artificial intelligence, robotics and quantum computing breakthroughs, nanotechnology is an emerging field that presents tremendous investment opportunities.

Nanotechnology’s Impact and Future Potential

Nanotechnology is revolutionizing industries globally, with significant applications in biomedicine, such as novel diagnostic tools, drug delivery systems, and vaccines, driven by rising chronic diseases. It also enhances clean energy through nanofluids for solar connectors and advances carbon capture with carbon nanotubes. Additionally, nanotechnology improves food security with nanoparticle-based fruit coatings, highlighting its essential role in future technological advancements.

Recent nanotechnology innovations include oxygen-releasing cryogels for tissue repair, gold liposomes for brain cancer treatment, DNA origami for optical metamaterials, stable multi-nanoemulsions, hacky sack-like nanoparticles for drug delivery, 3D cell culture structures, silicon nanoparticles for EV batteries, nano-vault silicon anodes, fireproof nanomaterials, and graphene nanoribbons for advanced nanoelectronics. Thanks to nanotechnology, several industries are undergoing a revolution that focuses on modifying atoms and molecules to produce products used in various industries.

While investors are still cautious about abandoning the tech trades that have generated significant returns over the past year, nanotech stocks trading for pennies promise to generate significant long-term returns as most are trading for pennies.

“In the third quarter we definitely saw that rotation and some of the tech leaders lagging. In the month of September alone, though, it kind of reversed a bit. … I think that particular rotation out of the big momentum stocks maybe didn’t finish the quarter as strongly as it started,” said James Ragan, director of wealth management at DA Davidson.

The global nanotechnology market, valued at $1.76 billion in 2020, is projected to reach $33.63 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 36.4%, according to estimates from Allied Market Research. Key segments like the graphene market, valued at $175.9 million in 2022, are expected to grow at a 46.6% CAGR, while the lipid nanoparticle market, valued at $777.4 million in 2022, is set to grow at 13.6% CAGR through 2029.

Despite challenges like high costs and performance issues, increased government support and innovative self-powered devices offer promising opportunities, with significant research activity in the US, UK, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. The US government, through the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), coordinates nanotech work across 19 agencies, aiming to enhance the economy, security, and quality of life. With a 2004 budget of $961 million, including $80 million from NIH and $2.5 million from NIEHS, the NNI supports basic and applied research, technology transfer, and understanding of social and environmental impacts. It promotes interdisciplinary research through 16 centers of excellence and programs like SBIR and STTR.

With this outlook in mind, let’s explore the best nanotech penny stocks to buy.

Our Methodology

We conducted thorough manual research to compile the list of the best nanotech penny stocks to buy. We selected nanotech stocks from various nanotechnology-focused ETFs, including ProShares Nanotechnology ETF (TINY), Global X Nanotechnology ETF (NANO), ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), and SPDR S&P Kensho Intelligent Structures ETF (SIMS). We selected stocks trading under $5 per share with substantial exposure to nanotechnology. The stocks are ranked in ascending order based on their share price value.

At Insider Monkey, we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Lightwave Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWLG)

Share Price as of October 7: $2.76

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 3

Lightwave Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWLG) is a key player in the nanotechnology market. It specializes in developing photonic devices and electro-optical polymer materials systems for fiber-optic data communications, optical computing, and telecommunications markets. It also creates and synthesizes organic chromophores for use in its designs of photonic devices and electro-optic polymer systems.

Lightwave Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWLG) is trying to carve out a niche in the electro-optic polymers market. It has already inked a strategic collaboration with Advanced Micro Foundry (AMF) to achieve a record-breaking low drive voltage below 1V at 200 Gbps PAM4. This is anticipated to accelerate the development of 800Gbps and 1.6T pluggable transceivers and improve optical connectivity for AI computing clusters.

In order to develop a small, ultra-high bandwidth device for data centers which need cutting-edge solutions to support AI and machine learning applications, the company announced a collaboration with Swiss company Polariton Technologies.

Globally, data centers must deal with increased power consumption and a “burgeoning” demand for faster data transmission from cloud services like AI and machine learning. The ultra-high bandwidths made possible by this device are highly suitable for next-generation internet and optical networking transceivers, which call for 200 Gbps per lane now and 400 Gbps per lane in the near future.

Despite a challenging environment, Lightwave Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWLG)’s impressive gross profit margin of 91.48% for the last twelve months as of Q2 2024 highlights its operations’ effectiveness and the potential value of its technology.

As per Insider Monkey’s database, 3 hedge fund portfolios held Lightwave Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWLG) at the end of the second quarter, which was 4 in the previous quarter.

Overall LWLG ranks 2nd on our list of 7 Best Nanotech Penny Stock to Buy. While we acknowledge the potential of LWLG as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than LWLG, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.