Penny Stocks Rally on Back of CPI Inflation Data
This week’s CPI inflation report and jobs data helped bolster broader markets. While most penny stocks are disconnected from whatever significant trends are in play, the overall upside doesn’t hurt either.
Optimism stemming from Thursday’s cooling of inflation helped fuel more risk-on sentiment in the stock market today. With the start of earnings season, there are sure to be more volatile days ahead in January.
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There aren’t many other asset classes that enjoy wild market swings as much as penny stocks. Whether it’s positive news from a milestone test or negative sentiment from a short report, there are plenty of market catalysts that can cause big moves in cheap stocks every day.
Today, we look at several companies that have direct ties to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others. The recent rally in BTC has prompted traders to be bullish on the industry even after the collapse of FTX. We also look at any upcoming events that might be worth noting if some of these are on our list of penny stocks to watch.
Bitcoin Penny Stocks to Watch Ahead of Next Week
Hut 8 Mining (HUT)
Digital asset mining company Hut 8 has been under pressure since Bitcoin prices fell in 2022. Now that positive solutions to the FTX situation have been found, optimism has returned to cryptocurrencies. In turn, this has translated into similar optimism for Bitcoin stocks.
Hut 8 builds a high-performance computing infrastructure specifically for digital asset mining operations. Earlier this month, it also gave its latest production and operations update from its December operations. Hut 8 increased its Bitcoin holdings by 161, bringing its total holdings to over 9,000. In addition, during the year 2022, Hut 8 has produced more than 3500 Bitcoins.
In response, CEO, Jaime Leverton explained, “Despite challenging market forces, we continued to grow the largest no-load, self-mined Bitcoin stack of any publicly traded company, welcomed our new CFO Shenif Visram, and made our first approach to our balance sheet in 2023. we have taken a good position in the year”.
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HUT stock may also be on the list of short interest stocks to watch. As of this article, TDAmeritrade shows a short float of 10.03% on Bitcoin stock.
Bit Digital Inc. (BTBT)
One of the Bitcoin-related companies trading on the stock exchange today is Bit Digital. This is another Bitcoin mining stock to watch. Similar to Hut 8, Bit Digital also recently reported production figures from December.
It gained 130 BTC for the month of December and BTC and ETH hoards were 946.6 and 8,799.9 respectively. Bit Digital has over 38,500 BTC miners and 730 ETH miners, with a total hash rate of 2.7 Exahash for BTC miners and 0.3 Terahash for Ethereum.
Despite the decline in results compared to the previous month, this week’s bullish moves in Bitcoin led to a similar reaction for BTBT shares.
Sphere 3D Corp. (EACH)
Bitcoin mining company Sphere 3D has had a strong run on the stock market this month. It also saw above-average daily trading volume.
The company added more than 2,600 Bitcoin miners by 2023. In its recently released December mining and mining update, Sphere 3D also noted its performance for the end of 2022. The company increased its production capacity by about 267% and massive production during the month. 74% – 17.93 BTC. At the end of December, Sphere 3D’s BTC reserves were just over 103.
“December was transformative for Sphere 3D from start to finish and included the reception of nearly 12,000 miners from BitFuFu, a successful annual general meeting, and the long-awaited miner power-up at Wolf Hollow. Once fully deployed and hashed, Sphere 3D’s fleet will total almost 17,000 units with a production capacity of over 1.7 EH/s.
Management also noted that “While there were many accomplishments for the company, the mining industry continued to struggle in December with a further downturn in the mining economy and additional bankruptcy filings… We are excited to welcome 11,850 miners and look forward to their installation and 2023 hashing during the first quarter of the year. With the deployment of our first fleet nearing completion, Sphere 3D continues to evaluate new opportunities to drive value in the new year.”
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Powerbridge Technologies (PBTS)
One of the most traded cryptocurrency and blockchain technology stocks on this list is Powerbridge Technologies. The company saw its stock drop significantly during Q3, coinciding with the news that it was launching soccer NFTs on the High Auction site. About two weeks ago, Powerbridge submitted a prospectus for a “dive-and-sell”. [YA II PN, LTD.] Up to a total offering amount of $30,000,000.
Since then, PBTS shares have hovered below $1 and occasionally below 10 cents. Nevertheless, the recent pop in BTC prices has helped draw attention to the stock below $1. Aside from its price, the PBTS short float rate may be something traders focus on. According to today’s data from TDAmeritrade, the short float of PBTS stock is 57.24%. In other outlets, including Fintel.IO, this figure is much lower than around 5%.
Bitfarms Ltd (BITF)
Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms was also in the spotlight on Thursday. Stocks continued to rise after a solid start to the new year. On January 3, BITF shares were hovering around $0.40. Penny stocks hit a high of over $0.90 this week. But it wasn’t just cryptocurrency speculation that helped build momentum this month.
Bitfarms also reported on several recent and upcoming milestones to watch. First, Bitfarms promoted a new CEO and president shortly before the end of the year. Geoffrey Morphy has previously served as COO and President and helped build the company from 5 farms to 10 in four countries.
Bitfarms produced 496 BTC last month. The new CEO responded positively to the update: “By activating the full 96 megawatts (MW) at Sherbrooke, as well as completing the First Warehouse at Rio Cuarto and renegotiating mining contract obligations, we have positioned ourselves for strategic growth with minimal cash outlays in 2023.”
There are 5,600 miners scheduled to be deployed this quarter to expand EH/s and eventually replace underperforming miners. Bitfarms presented at the Needham Growth Conference on Thursday morning, focusing more on its operations as a whole.
One thing to keep in mind with all Bitcoin stocks or stocks related to digital assets is that broad news or trends like we saw today regarding the price of BTC can dramatically affect sentiment. So, before adding specific stocks to your penny stocks list, it’s worth paying attention to what’s happening in the crypto industry.
List of Penny Stocks to Watch
- Bitfarms Ltd (NASDAQ:BITF)
- Hut 8 Mining (NASDAQ: HUT)
- Bit Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:BTBT)
- Sphere 3D Corp. (NASDAQ: ANY)
- Powerbridge Technologies (NASDAQ: PBTS )