Micro- and small-cap companies dominated gains on the stock market last week, bucking an overall market pessimism, thanks to a flurry of company developments that bolstered investing appetite, including acquisition and stellar earnings performance.
In this article, we listed the names of last week’s top performers and detailed the reasons behind their gains based on their share prices last Friday, March 14, and their closing prices on March 7, or the Friday prior.
We classify micro-cap companies as those with a market capitalization below $300 million and small-cap firms as those with a market capitalization below $1 billion.
Source: Pexels
10. Yunhong Green CTI Ltd. (NASDAQ:YHGJ)
Yunhong Green, formerly CTI Industries, rallied by 64 percent last week to close at $1 apiece as investors gobbled up shares in the company to boost its price above the $1 minimum requirement of the Nasdaq exchange to remain as a listed firm.
On October 21, YHGJ received a letter from Nasdaq notifying the company of its noncompliance with the minimum threshold. The letter was based on its share price, which fell below the $1 level for 30 consecutive days since September 10, 2024.
YHGJ said it was given 180 days upon receipt of the letter, or until April 21, 2025, to comply with the threshold; otherwise, it could face a potential delisting.
To meet the requirements, the closing bid price of Yunhong Green CTI’s common stock must reach $1.00 or more per share for at least 10 consecutive business days within this period.
9. OptimizeRx Corp. (NASDAQ:OPRX)
Shares of OptimizeRx Corp. jumped by 69.65 percent in the past five trading days as investors took path from its strong earnings performance last year coupled with an optimistic outlook guidance for 2025.
In its latest earnings release, OPRX said it narrowed its net loss in the fourth quarter of the year by 98 percent to $77,000 from the $4.14 million registered in the same period a year earlier, as net revenues increased by 13.7 percent to $32.3 million from $28.4 million.
Net loss, however, widened by 14.4 percent to $20.1 million from $17.6 million in full-year 2024 versus the year earlier, but revenues were higher by 28.8 percent to $92.1 million from $71.5 million.
Amid the strong performance last year, OPRX guided an optimistic outlook for this year, saying it expects revenues to end at around $100 million with an adjusted EBITDA of $12 million.
8. The EW Scripps Company (NASDAQ:SSP)
The EW Scripps saw its share prices rally by 76 percent week-on-week as investors cheered the company’s strong earnings performance in the fourth quarter of the year.
In its latest earnings release, SSP said it achieved an $87.6-million income attributable to shareholders in the fourth quarter of 2024, reversing a loss of $998 million in the same period a year earlier, on the back of strong record political advertising revenues.
Total revenues increased by 18 percent to $728 million from $615 million in the same period a year earlier.
Looking ahead, SSP said it expects to face challenges under the new leadership at the Federal Communications Commission, but it will lean into any opportunity to improve operating performance.
SSP is a leading media company that owns Scripps News, Court TV, ION, Bounce, Grit, ION Mystery, ION Plus, and Laff.
7. Pheton Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ:PTHL)
Pheton Holdings surged by 81.7 percent week-on-week to close at $4.18 apiece as investors appeared to have resorted to bargain-hunting to take advantage of its cheap valuations.
At the start of the month, PTHL fell to its lowest close of $1.9, a 237-percent dive from its highest close of $6.44 on October 2, 2024.
However, March 7’s valuation marked a 120-percent increase from its $1.9 close on March 3, the first trading day of the month.
PTHL is a holding company based in China. Through its subsidiaries, it specializes in providing healthcare solutions dedicated to the development and commercialization of treatment software used for brachytherapy, a type of radiotherapy used in treating cancer patients by placing radioactive sources inside the patient that kill cancer cells and tumors.
6. Redfin Corporation (NASDAQ:RDFN)
Redfin Corp. soared by 83.8 percent in just a week’s trading as investors reacted positively to news that it is set to merge with Rocket Companies Inc. (NYSE:RKT) for an all-stock deal valued at $1.75 billion.
In a statement last week, RKT said it had entered into an agreement with RDFN for the acquisition of its shares for $12.50 as it seeks to boost its lending business.
The value represented a 16.8-percent premium from RDFN’s close of $10.7 on Friday.
Founded in 2004, RDFN is one of the US’s leading real estate brands, operating a top-three home search platform with more than 1 million for-sale and rental listings and a tech-powered brokerage of more than 2,200 agents.
“[RKT] and [RDFN] have a unified vision of a better way to buy and sell homes,” said Varun Krishna, CEO of Rocket Companies. “Together, we will improve the experience by connecting traditionally disparate steps of the search and financing process with leading technology that removes friction, reduces costs, and increases value to American homebuyers.”
5. D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS)
Shares of D-Wave Quantum surged by 95.9 percent week-on-week as investors cheered the company’s strong growth in bookings, offsetting disappointing revenues and net income performances.
In its latest earnings release, QBTS said bookings expanded by 502 percent to $18.3 million in the fourth quarter from only $3 million in the same period a year earlier, while bookings in the full year period registered a 128-percent jump at $23.9 million from $10.5 million year-on-year.
Meanwhile, net loss in full year 2024 increased by 74 percent to $143.9 million from $82.7 million year-on-year, while net loss for the fourth quarter surged by 438 percent to $86.1 million from $16 million year-on-year, primarily due to a non-cash, non-operating charge related to the remeasurement of its warrant liability that materially increased as a result of the significant price appreciation of its warrants.
4. Radius Recycling Inc. (NASDAQ:RDUS)
Radius Recycling soared by 102.8 percent week-on-week following news that it was set to be acquired by Toyota Tsusho America, Inc. for $1.34 billion.
In a statement, RDUS said it had entered into a definitive merger agreement with Toyota Tsusho for the acquisition of all RDUS shares at a price of $30 apiece.
The purchase price represents a 119-percent premium from RDUS’s closing price of $13.66 on March 13, prior to the acquisition announcement.
The transaction expects the two firms to join forces in advancing the circular economy by increasing recycling and reducing waste across the industrial, manufacturing, and retail sectors.
RDUS said even with the completion of the transaction, it would continue to operate from its current headquarters in Portland, Oregon with its teams, operating facilities, strategy, and brands retained.
3. Heidmar Maritime Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:HMR)
Heidmar Maritime skyrocketed by 128 percent week-on-week as investors snapped up shares in the company following news that it bagged a $108-million contract with Netherlands-based transmission system operator TenneT.
Under the agreement, HMR would provide TenneT with a platform supply vessel and crew for supply tours to the latter’s offshore platforms in the German North Sea for five years.
The contract is set to take effect on April 15, 2025, and end on February 28, 2030. The contract also gave HMR three options for one-year extensions.
HMR is a newly listed company on the US stock exchange which debuted only on February 20. From its $5.95 closing price on its first day as a listed company, HMR’s price as of March 14, however, marked a 42-percent drop.
2. CervoMed Inc. (NASDAQ:CRVO)
CervoMed saw its share prices increase by 191 percent on Friday versus its $2.21 close on March 7 following positive results from the extension phase of its phase 2b clinical study of Neflamapimod for the treatment of Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB).
A total of 159 participants enrolled in the initial phase of the study. Of the number, 152 completed the initial phase, and 149 entered the extension phase, during which all participants received Neflamapimod.
In a statement last week, John-Paul Taylor, professor of translational dementia research at Newcastle University in the UK, said that the results from the extension phase of the study were highly persuasive.
DLB is the third most common degenerative disease of the brain after Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease. According to CRVO, patients with the disease accumulate protein deposits called Lewy bodies in the brain’s nerve cells. This negatively affects cognitive ability, including attention, judgment, and reasoning, along with motor function.
1. Regencell Bioscience Holdings Limited (NASDAQ:RGC)
Regencell spiked up by 207 percent week-on-week to close at $12.62 on Friday following a share buyback from another shareholder.
For the week alone, RGC registered gains as high as 242 percent after finishing at $14.09 on Thursday.
According to the company, its CEO Yat-Gai Au personally financed a share buyback program of 652,000 RGC shares from investment company Digital Mobile Venture.
The company snapped up more than $6.2 million of shares at an average price of $9.5 apiece. Following the acquisition, Au owned a little over 11 million shares, representing 86 percent of the company.
RGC is a biotech company that’s on a mission to commercialize traditional Chinese medicine for ADHD treatment, a subject that hits close to home for Au.
While we acknowledge the potential of RGC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as RGC but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
