In this article, we will look at the 10 Best Penny Stocks That Could Skyrocket in 2026.
On June 4, Travis Prentice, CIO at The Informed Momentum Co., appeared on a CNBC Television interview to discuss what’s happening outside of the AI trade, particularly the small-cap stocks. He noted that while the AI trade has been good and the overall momentum of the market is strong, there’s a lot happening outside of the mega-cap tech stocks. The Russell 2000 index has been up 2.83% over the past month, while the NASDAQ Index has declined by almost the same percentage over the past 30 days. Travis noted that the market is broadening, which is helping smaller companies go higher.
Travis also highlighted that while the market is broadening out, this does not mean that investors blindly trust a sector. He noted that it is important to look at each stock individually before investing. Travis noted that, being momentum investors, he also looks at fundamental momentum in combination with the market momentum. He noted that the analysis suggests that while the AI trade is strongly placed fundamentally, it is time to start managing risk smartly, and this is where quality small-cap stocks come in.
With that, let’s take a look at the 10 Best Penny Stocks That Could Skyrocket in 2026.
Stocks
Our Methodology
To curate the list of 10 Best Penny Stocks That Could Skyrocket in 2026, we used the Finviz stock screener, CNN, and Insider Monkey’s hedge funds database. Using the screener, we aggregated a list of penny stocks (trading under $5) for which analysts expect more than 40% upside. Next, we checked the upside potential from CNN and ranked the stocks according to this indicator. These stocks are also popular among analysts and elite hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Insider Monkey’s quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 599.2% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 372 percentage points (see more details here).
10 Best Penny Stocks That Could Skyrocket in 2026
10. Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 31
Upside Potential: 40.40%
Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) is one of the Best Penny Stocks That Could Skyrocket in 2026. Wall Street’s 12-month average price target suggests more than 40% upside from the current levels. On June 2, Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) announced selling a federal Investment Tax Credit worth roughly $39.2 million.
Management noted that the Investment Tax Credit was linked to its hydrogen liquefaction facility in St. Gabriel, Louisiana, and is a joint venture with Olin Corporation. This move was part of the company’s strategy to improve liquidity and deploy more capital to expand its hydrogen network.
Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) noted that under the US clean energy law, hydrogen infrastructure assets can qualify for the Investment Tax Credit that companies can transfer to third-party investors for immediate cash benefits. Plug Power had earlier used the same approach in 2025 for a $30 million ITC transfer tied to its Woodbine, Georgia, facility.
That said, Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) has been in business for more than 25 years, but recorded its first-ever gross profit in Q4 2025. This momentum was carried forward to Q1 2026 earnings, where revenue jumped 22% year over year, driven by strong electrolyzer sales and material handling volumes. The margins improved as well, with gross margins increasing from negative 55% in Q1 2025 to negative 13% in Q1 2026.
Analysts at Craig-Hallum and B. Riley both raised their price targets on Plug stock to $5 per share following the Q1 results.
Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) is an alternative energy technology firm. It designs, develops, commercializes, and manufactures hydrogen and fuel cell systems for the material handling and stationary power fields.
9. CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CCC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 26
Upside Potential: 70.21%
CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CCC) was trading well above the penny stock level (share price of $5) at the start of 2026. The stock has gone on a decline of almost 34% over the past 6 months, despite strong fundamentals. Wall Street expects CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CCC) to fly back to its previous highs with analysts’ 12-month average price target suggesting more than 70% upside. It also ranks among our Best Penny Stocks That Could Skyrocket in 2026.
Much of the decline has been due to the general software sector pullback. The company posted its fiscal Q1 2026 earnings on April 30. During the quarter, the company posted $281.27 million in revenue, up 12% year-over-year and ahead of expectations by 2.49%. The EPS of $0.11 also topped the Street’s estimates by 16.71%. Management noted that growth during the quarter was driven by a multi-year enterprise agreement with a top-five insurer for AI and Auto Physical Damage solutions.
Moreover, the company also raised its full-year guidance to a range of $1.155 billion to $1.163 billion, reflecting roughly 10% annual growth despite expected second-half headwinds. Adjusted EBITDA is expected within the range of $484.0 million to $490.0 million for 2026.
CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CCC) serves property and casualty (“P&C”) insurance companies with cloud, mobile, telematics, hyperscale technologies, and applications, including a cloud-based software as a service platform for digitized workflows.
