5 Overlooked Penny Stocks to Buy Right Now

2. Altimmune, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 23

Upside Potential: 392.06%

Altimmune, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALT), backed by significant analyst-implied upside, ranks among the overlooked penny stocks to buy right now. Fresh analyst confidence in the company’s MASH drug candidate follows strong data that continues to build the case for pemvidutide.

On June 22, 2026, Leerink analyst Thomas Smith initiated coverage of Altimmune, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALT) with an “Outperform” rating and a $10 price target. Smith called Altimmune an attractive play in a market for MASH therapeutics that is increasingly supported by clinical data, pointing to pemvidutide’s differentiated dual-agonist profile and its potential to expand into adjacent liver and alcohol-related indications.

That call followed 48-week results from the company’s IMPACT Phase 2b trial, announced in May, evaluating pemvidutide in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Altimmune, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALT) said the dual glucagon/GLP-1 receptor agonist significantly enhanced several cardiometabolic measures in comparison to placebo. Patients on the 1.8 mg dose saw notable improvements in triglycerides and total cholesterol, along with continued weight loss, lower body mass index, reduced waist circumference, and improvements in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

Presented at the European Association for the Study of the Liver Congress 2026 in Barcelona, the findings also suggested that pemvidutide was generally well tolerated over 48 weeks, with only a small proportion of patients not continuing treatment due to adverse events. Earlier data had already demonstrated notable improvements in liver fibrosis and liver stiffness in patients receiving pemvidutide compared with placebo.

Altimmune, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALT) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing pemvidutide, a dual GLP-1/glucagon receptor agonist for metabolic and liver diseases.