While most of Wall Street focuses on large 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’s pretty hard 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 technology companies that could very well offer patient investors some huge returns in 2021 and beyond. Investors that did that in 2008 and 2009 absolutely killed it over the next few years.

While all five of these 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.

A10 Networks

On a solid upside roll since early October, this is an incredible idea for aggressive investors. A10 Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: ATEN) offers the Thunder application delivery controller, which provides advanced server load balancing. The Lightning application delivery controller is a cloud-native software-as-a-service platform to boost the delivery and security of applications and micro services. Plus, its Thunder carrier-grade networking product offers standards-compliant address and protocol translation services for service provider networks.

A10 Networks also provides Thunder threat protection system for the protection of networks and server resources against massive distributed denial of service attacks. Its Thunder secure sockets layer (SSL) insight solution decrypts SSL-encrypted traffic and forwards it to a third-party security device for deep packet inspection. And the Thunder convergent firewall addresses various critical security capabilities in one package by consolidating various security and networking functions in a single appliance.

In addition, the company offers intelligent management and automation tools including a harmony controller that provides intelligent management, automation and analytics for secure application delivery in a multi-cloud environment, and its aGalaxy TPS is a multi-device network management solution.

Sidoti has a huge $15 price objective, though the consensus target price across Wall Street is $14.25. Shares have traded near $8 for the past month.

AXT

This off-the-radar stock has had a big run recently, but any backup is a solid buy level. AXT Inc. (NASDAQ: AXTI) researches, develops and produces compound and single element semiconductor substrates. It produces semiconductor substrates using its proprietary vertical gradient freeze technology.

The company offers indium phosphide for use in fiber optic lasers and detectors, passive optical networks, data center connectivity, silicon photonics, photonic integrated circuits, terrestrial solar cells, radio frequency amplifier and switching, infrared light-emitting diode (LED) motion control, and infrared thermal imaging, as well as for 5G.

AXT also provides semi-insulating gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrates for applications in power amplifiers, direct broadcast television, transistors, satellite communications and solar cells. Its semi-conducting GaAs substrates are used in 3-D sensing, data center communication, high brightness LEDs, lasers, near-infrared sensors, printer head lasers and LEDs, optical couplers, solar cells and night-vision goggles, as well as laser machining, cutting and drilling.

The Craig Hallum price target is $12, above the $10.65 consensus target. Shares have been trading near $10.

This is a solid bet for aggressive investors looking for an emerging markets idea. IClick Interactive Asia Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: ICLK) provides online marketing services in the People’s Republic of China and internationally.

IClick offers iAudience, an audience identification solution that allows marketers to search, identify and customize their targeted audience to generate or enhance brand awareness, as well as iAccess and iActivation, an audience engagement and activation solution tailored for brand awareness-driven and performance-driven campaigns. Its iExpress is the lite version of iAccess solution for small and medium-sized enterprises, while iNsights is an online campaign results monitoring and measurement solution, and iExperience is a content creation solution.

The company also provides mobile marketing solutions, which are non-search engine marketing solutions to identify, engage and activate audience on mobile apps, as well as monitor and measure the results of online marketing activities on such channels. It has other solutions that focus on identifying, engaging and activating audience on non-mobile app content distribution channels comprising PC banner displays, PC video advertisements and search engine marketing. In addition, it offers enterprise solutions that help clients collate information from various consumer touchpoints and integrate them into a single data management platform to drive sales and marketing decisions to new retail, online education, real estate and other sectors.

The $12 Alliance Global target price compares with an $11.71 consensus estimate. Shares have risen above $7 recently.

Limelight Networks

This stock looks to have bottomed recently and could be ready for a sizable move higher. Limelight Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: LLNW) offers services and solutions for businesses to deliver their digital content across the internet, mobile, social and other digital initiatives. It operates edge services platform that provides content delivery services, video content management services, performance services for website and web application acceleration and security, professional services, cloud storage and edge computing services, as well as sells equipment.

Limelight Networks also offers professional services and other infrastructure services, such as transit and rack space services. It serves media companies operating in the television, music, radio, newspaper, magazine, movie, gaming, software and social media industries, as well as enterprises, technology companies and government entities conducting business online.

B. Riley has a $7 price objective that is in line with the $6.97 consensus figure. The shares rallied past the $4 level recently.

Zix

This company has gone through numerous transformations over the past 20 years and is poised for potential strong growth. Zix Corp. (NASDAQ: ZIXI) provides email encryption, data loss prevention, threat protection, archiving and bring-your-own-device mobile security solutions for the health care, financial services, insurance and government industries primarily in the United States.

The company offers Advanced Email Threat Protection, a cloud-based service that defends organizations from zero-day malware, ransomware, phishing, CEO fraud, W-2 phishing attacks, spams and viruses in email, as well as its Information Archive, a cloud-based email retention solution that enables user retrieval, compliance and e-discovery. Its Email Encryption Service allows a user to send encrypted email to any email user anywhere and on any Internet-enabled device. And it has cloud-based cybersecurity solutions and e-signatures and secure file sharing solutions. It serves the health care, financial services, insurance and government sectors.

Wedbush has set a gigantic $9.90 price target. The consensus target is higher at $10.75, but the stock has been trading above $7.

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These are five stocks for very aggressive investors looking to get share-count leverage with stocks that have sizable upside potential. While not suited for all investors, these are not penny stocks with absolutely no track record or liquidity, and other major Wall Street firms also have research coverage.

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