In what started out as just another week with another round of highs for stocks, the picture changed by the time Thursday and Friday came around. Still, despite an Israeli ground troop effort and despite a passenger jet being shot down over the Ukraine, stocks were higher on Friday. This is a market in which stock pickers are still looking for upside, and the stocks under $10 remain of interest because of how much upside investors believe they can see.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week for new ideas for our readers. While we often see many upside and downside stocks in these reports, sometimes we see calls for stocks to rise 50%, 100% or even exponentially. We generally have to go through 200 to 300 analyst calls to put together the proper list of analyst calls in stocks under $10, and we filter out OTC stocks and other calls selectively.
Also note that low-priced and small-cap stocks generally have more implied risk than most established stocks. You just almost never see upside targets issued on DJIA stocks with this sort of magnitude.
Furthermore, be aware that very few of these under $10 stocks would generally pass a “widows and orphans” suitability test for investors. This is what brokers and financial advisors have to consider when it comes to ethics and suitability for clients.
These are the 12 analyst stocks tracked during the past week with very positive analyst ratings and still trading under $10.
Aerohive Networks Inc. (NYSE: HIVE) is still a fairly new company, and analysts had been positive on this stock previously. We saw that Buckingham Research issued a new Buy rating on the mobility provider with an $11 price target. That is not even the highest price target, and a late Friday price of $7.70 gives an implied upside of more than 40%.
Aeterna Zentaris Inc. (NASDAQ: AEZS) is a biotech stock that could be close to a triple, if the firm H.C. Wainwright is correct. The firm issued a Buy rating and $3 stock target on Thursday, and shares were around $1.20 Friday afternoon.
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B2Gold Corp. (NYSE: BTG) is a small gold stock, covered in a much broader J.P. Morgan note this past week, that the firm feels has much upside. Talked up was its recent $570 million acquisition of Papillon Resources at a very remarkable $125 per ounce. With its African project that is expected to be in production in 2016, many on Wall Street feel that is a very bullish sign for the overall gold sector. The consensus price target is $3.70. Shares closed trading on Tuesday at $2.71 and traded at $2.75 on Friday.
Gastar Exploration Inc. (NYSEMKT: GST) was started as Buy with a $12 price target (versus an $8.06 close) at Canaccord Genuity. The report on Thursday implied upside of nearly 50%, with the analyst comment that there is more here than meets the eye. Shares went above $8.30 initially after the call. They were back under $8 late on Friday.
Glu Mobile Inc. (NASDAQ: GLUU), a repeat name on the analyst stocks under $10 list, was reiterated as Outperform at Northland Securities on Tuesday, but what stood out was that the firm raised its upside target from $7.50 to $9. This was already projecting upside of over 17% from the $6.38 prior close, but the new target suggested upside of about 41%. The company is reaping the rewards from the Kardashian game, and shares were up 2% initially on the news. Glu Mobile shares were trading at $6.78 late on Friday.
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) was given a positive reading at Bank of America Merrill Lynch on Friday, saying it was the best regional bank report so far this earnings season (after it beat earnings). The firm maintained its Buy rating and $11 price target, versus a $9.30 close. Sterne Agee maintained a Neutral rating but had positive comments in its flash note after earnings. Nomura also started coverage with a Neutral as shares have already bounced, but it assigned an upside price target of $10. Huntington Bancshares were up more than 3% at $9.65 late on Friday.
IsoRay Inc. (NYSEMKT: ISR) was started as Buy with a $5 price target on Wednesday by the Maxim Group. That implies nearly a double, because IsoRay shares were at $2.75 late on Friday. IsoRay is in isotope products and devices to treat cancer, such as brachytherapy seeds and balloon catheter devices for cancer.
ALSO READ: 4 Top Biotechs Expected to Beat Earnings
Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC) made the list of Credit Suisse’s top gold stock picks late in the week. Kinross was also on the RBC list of top gold stocks to buy a week earlier. Kinross shares were at $4.12 late on Friday, and the consensus price target is closer to $5.35.
MiMedx Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MDXG) was started with a Buy rating on Tuesday at Needham & Co. The firm’s target price was $8.50, versus a $7.01 prior close, but this stock now has more implied upside since it was trading down around $6.50 late on Friday. The consensus price target is $9.10.
PEDEVCO Corp. (NYSEMKT: PED) was started as Buy with a $3 price target at Roth Capital. What stands out here is that this implies more than 50% upside. The stock was up more than 3% at $1.92 late on Friday.
Silver Standard Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: SSRI) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets on Tuesday. The firm issued a $12.50 price target, versus a prior $8.88 closing price. Just keep in mind that shares were as high as $9.66 on Thursday and back down to $9.40 late on Friday.
Wendy’s Co. (NASDAQ: WEN) was started as Buy with an $11 price target (versus an $8.10 close) at Buckingham Research on Friday. What was interesting is that Wendy’s has already made so many gains, and its stock was over $10 briefly during its recovery. But Wendy’s shares were trading at $8.32 late on Friday, and the consensus price target was closer to $9.30.
ALSO READ: UBS Has 6 Positive Catalyst Stocks to Buy
Last weekend’s analyst stocks under $10 included Apollo Investment, DHT Holdings, Groupon, Halcon Resources, Halozyme Therapeutics, Joe’s Jeans, Yingli Green Energy and more. Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included AMD, Dunkin’ Brands, EOG Resources, Time Warner and many more.
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