The market’s cheap penny stocks trend is still strong and it seems like it is about to claim its next target in Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTI) which saw a 29% run on August 21. Given the stock’s low float and its equity investment agreement with Lucro Investments VCC, investors are starting to wonder if ASTI stock is the next Novo Integrated Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVOS). As a result of its bullish momentum and its low float, the stock may soon find itself mirroring some of the trend’s most notable runners.
ASTI Fundamentals
So far, the market’s cheap penny stocks trend has claimed many targets including but not limited to, Inpixon (NASDAQ: INPX), T2 Biosystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTOO), EBET, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBET), and the most prominent of the bunch NVOS which surged 261%.
As is, ASTI has an advantage over most of the other stocks that were targeted by this trend which is its low float. ASTI stock has a low float of 38 million which is much lower than that of EBET whose float is 396 million, TTOO which has a float of 283 million, and NVOS which also has a large float of 129 million.
Another major advantage ASTI stock has over its penny stock peers is its equity investment agreement with Lucuro Investments VCC. Back in April, Lucro agreed to invest $9 million in the company through monthly $1 million investments which will see Lucro buying shares of ASTI at $1.2, well above the stocks’s PPS at the time which was around $.2. This deal is an extremely bullish indication for the stock since it underlines an expectation that its PPS is worth more than $1.2.
At the moment, the market’s current cheap penny stocks trend is likely causing renewed investor interest in the agreement. There are currently more eyes on the stock which is evident in the stock’s recent spike in volume. Normally, ASTI stock has an average trading volume of around 1 – 2 million, however, its average trading volume spiked to around 26.1 million over the past 4 trading days which shows the growing interest in the stock. For this reason, the stock may end up mirroring the moves of its peers in the coming days.
ASTI Financials
According to ASTI’s Q2 2023 report, its assets decreased from $18.6 million at the beginning of the year to $11.66 million. This decrease was mostly attributed to the company’s cash balance decreasing from $11.4 million to $905 thousand which was mostly due to cashflow used in operations of 6 million in the first half of the year and cashflow used in investing activities of $3.8 million over the same period. On the other hand, the company’s liabilities remained relatively unchanged only increasing from $14 million to $14.4 million.
When it comes to revenue ASTI experienced a sizable YoY fall from $637 thousand to $101 thousand which was due to product revenue dropping from $627 thousand to $86 thousand. Meanwhile, expenses increased from $2.9 million to $3.2 million as a result of a $306 thousand increase in general and administrative expenses. This increase in expenses and decreased revenue caused the company’s net loss to spike YoY from $2.3 million to $3.9 million.
Technical Analysis
ASTI stock recently broke out of a bearish trend as it was trading in a downward channel. Looking at the indicators, the stock is trading above the 50 and 21 MAs which is a bullish sign, but is still below the 200 MA which is a bearish sign. Meanwhile, the RSI is neutral at 60 and the MACD recently turned bullish.
As for the fundamentals, ASTI stock is likely the latest target of the market’s cheap penny stocks trend which could help boost its share price in the coming days considering its higher than average trading volume. That said, the stock has significant advantages over its peers which are its low float and its equity investment agreement with Lucro that stipulates that Lucro purchases shares of the stock at $1.2. Given the stock’s potential to run, traders could wait for a break of the resistance with a pullback to enter long positions since the stock may be a profitable swing trade.
ASTI Forecast
Given ASTI stock’s recent run and volume fluctuation, it is likely that it is the latest target of the market’s current cheap penny stocks trend. That said, there are major attributes that could help the stock along its run which are its low float and the equity investment with Lucro. As more eyes are turned toward the deal in the meantime, the stock may end up replicating NVOS’ run in the coming days.