While most of Wall Street focuses on large-cap and mega-cap stocks, as they provide a degree of safety and liquidity, many investors are limited in the number of shares they can buy. Many of the biggest public companies, especially the technology giants, trade in the hundreds, all the way up to over $1,000 per share or more. At those steep prices, it is difficult to get any decent share count leverage.

Many investors, especially more aggressive traders, look at lower-priced stocks as a way to not only make some good money but to get a higher share count. That can really help the decision-making process, especially when you are on to a winner, as you can always sell half and keep half.

We screened our 24/7 Wall St. research database looking for smaller cap companies that could very well offer patient investors some huge returns the rest of 2021 and beyond. Patient investors that did that in 2008 and 2009 absolutely killed it over the next few years.

While all four of the following stocks are rated Buy, it is important to remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.

Checkpoint Therapeutics

This micro-cap stock is expected to explode higher if clinical data pans out. Checkpoint Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CKPT) is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology biopharmaceutical company focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of novel treatments for patients with solid tumor cancers.

The company’s lead antibody product candidate is Cosibelimab, a fully-human monoclonal antibody of IgG1 subtype that directly binds to programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) and blocks the PD-L1 interaction with the programmed death receptor-1 and B7.1 receptors. CK-302 is a human agonistic antibody that is designed to bind to and trigger signaling in GITR expressing cells.

The company is also developing CK-101, a third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor, as a treatment for patients with EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer. CK-103 is a selective and potent small molecule inhibitor of bromodomain and extra-terminal bromodomains and anti-carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) antibody, a fully human preclinical antibody to recognize CAIX expressing cells and kill them via antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and complement-dependent cytotoxicity.

B. Riley Securities is incredibly bullish and has a stunning $18 price target. The consensus target price is just $15.80. The stock closed Friday at $2.68.

Equillium

This off-the-radar small-cap has solid upside for aggressive investors looking for biotech ideas. Equillium Inc. (NASDAQ: EQ) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that develops and sells products to treat severe autoimmune and inflammatory, or immuno-inflammatory, disorders with unmet medical need.

Its primary product candidate is itolizumab, a clinical-stage monoclonal antibody that targets the novel immune checkpoint receptor CD6, which is in Phase 1b/2 clinical trials for the treatment of acute graft-versus-host disease and in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of asthma and lupus5.90. nephritis.

The company recently announced positive topline data from the Phase 1b EQUATE study in first-line acute graft-versus-host-disease (aGVHD). The EQUATE trial is evaluating itolizumab in severe aGVHD patients concomitant with standard of care, which is typically composed of high-dose corticosteroids. There are no approved treatments for this severe, life-threatening disease.

Stifel has a $12 price target, though the consensus target is higher at $13.60. That is versus the closing print on Friday of $

Flexion Therapeutics

This small-cap biotech is ramping up sales and the shares have big-time upside potential. Flexion Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: FLXN) focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for the treatment of patients with musculoskeletal conditions in the United States.

It markets and sells Zilretta, an intra-articular injection for the management of osteoarthritis (OA) knee pain. It is also involved in the development of FX201, a gene therapy product candidate designed to provide on-demand production of an anti-inflammatory protein, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist for pain relief from OA of the knee. Its FX301 is a NaV1.7 inhibitor for the management of postoperative pain.

The first quarter of 2021 was marked by solid Zilretta sales and important progress with both FX201 and FX301, the company’s exciting investigational drug candidates.

Raymond James has a Strong Buy rating and a large $16 price target. No consensus target was available. Fridays final trade came in at $9.16.

ReShape Lifesciences

Those looking for the perfect weight loss solution company may have found a big winner. ReShape Lifesciences Inc. (NASDAQ: RSLS) is a medical device company that provides products and services that manage and treat obesity and metabolic diseases in the United States, Australia, Europe and elsewhere.

The company’s product portfolio includes Lap-Band System, a minimally invasive long-term treatment of severe obesity and more invasive surgical stapling procedures, such as the gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy, and ReShape Vest system, an investigational, minimally invasive, laparoscopically implanted medical device that wraps around the stomach to enable weight loss in obese and morbidly obese patients without cutting or permanently removing portions of the stomach, or bypassing any portion of the gastrointestinal tract.

The company also offers ReShapeCare virtual health coaching program, a virtual telehealth weight management program that supports healthy lifestyle changes for all medically managed weight-loss patients. Its ReShape Diabetes Bloc-Stim Neuromodulation is a technology that is in preclinical development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The huge $18.50 Alliance Global price target compares with a $12 consensus target. The shares closed trading on Friday at $5.44.

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These are four stocks for aggressive investors looking to get share count leverage on companies that have sizable upside potential. While not suited for all investors, they are not penny stocks with absolutely no track record or liquidity, and major Wall Street firms have research coverage.

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