We recently compiled a list of the 10 Hot Penny Stocks to Buy Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where SEALSQ Corp (NASDAQ:LAES) stands against the other hot penny stocks.
How Did Small Caps Do In Q4 2024?
On January 2, Royce Investment Partners published their analysis regarding the performance of the small caps during the fourth quarter of 2024. The report highlighted that small-cap stocks, represented by the Russell 2000 Index, achieved a modest gain of 0.3%, marking the second consecutive positive quarter. However, this performance lagged behind large-cap stocks, as the Russell 1000 Index rose by 2.7% in the same period. Francis Gannon, Co-Chief Investment Officer, and Managing Director, pointed out a unique “bowl-shaped” return pattern among US equities in the last quarter of 2024, with the Russell Microcap Index increasing by 5.9% and the Russell Top 50 Index by 5.5%.
Gannon highlighted that while December’s results were disappointing for many stocks, particularly small-cap and micro-cap indexes, the overall year was strong for small-cap performance, with an annual increase of 11.5%. However, on the other hand, this also marked the eighth consecutive year where small-caps underperformed relative to large-caps. Historically speaking the data reveals that the Russell 2000 has only outperformed the Russell 1000 in four of the last twenty years, with a significant underperformance streak noted since 2016. Gannon acknowledged that this is a long period of wait to see small cap leadership but he sees promising signs for the leadership to be just around the corner.
While explaining his bullish sentiment Gannon discussed the dynamics of volatility in the US equity markets. He contrasted large-cap and small-cap stocks’ performance in 2024 and noted that large-cap stocks experienced relatively low volatility throughout the year, as indicated by the CBOE Volatility Index. Apart from a brief spike in early August, large-cap stocks maintained a notably stable performance, mirroring trends observed in 2023. However, on the other hand, small-cap stocks exhibited a slightly different volatility profile. Gannon highlights that historically, about 42% of trading days in the Russell 2000 see price movements of 1% or more. In 2024, this figure was marginally lower at 41%, indicating that small-caps remained somewhat volatile but not significantly. He emphasizes that this trend of volatility is expected to change, predicting a return to more typical levels of volatility across stocks in 2025. He encouraged investors to view increased volatility not merely as a source of fear but as an opportunity for long-term investment strategies.
Our Methodology
To create the list of 10 hot penny stocks to buy now, we used the Finviz stock screener. Using the screener we first aggregated a list of penny stocks (price between $1-$5) and then sorted it in ascending order of their 6-month performance. Next, we ranked these stocks based on the number of hedge fund holders, in ascending order, sourced from Insider Monkey’s Q4 2024 database. Please note that the data was collected on February 20, 2025.
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. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 363.5% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 208 percentage points (see more details here).
A technician soldering a semiconductor chip, emphasizing the power of the company’s products.
SEALSQ Corp (NASDAQ:LAES)
Price: $3.38
6-Months Performance: 503.57%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 4
SEALSQ Corp (NASDAQ:LAES) is a Swiss company that operates in the semiconductor industry. It focuses on Tamper-Resistant Semiconductors, Post-Quantum Technology, and Secure Microcontrollers all of which are essential products for consumer electronics, aerospace and military applications, telecommunication, and more. On February 5, Matthew Galinko analyst at Maxim maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $6.
SEALSQ Corp (NASDAQ:LAES) has announced a significant integration of WISeAI’s decentralized model into its quantum computing platform. This move aims to enhance the security and transparency of artificial intelligence (AI) systems by leveraging quantum technology. Moreover, according to the company’s unaudited fiscal year 2024 results, its revenue was $11 million, which was less than the $30 million reported in FY23. Management attributed this decline to the transition towards post-quantum semiconductor technologies, with customers shifting from traditional microcontrollers to quantum-resistant solutions and delaying inventory build-up until the new chip release.
SEALSQ Corp (NASDAQ:LAES) believes its current revenue is comparable to its quantum-focused peers. To speed up the development it has also increased its R&D spending by $1.4 million year-over-year, and invested over $5M in 2024. It is one of the hot penny stocks to buy now.
Overall LAES ranks 7th on our list of the hot penny stocks to buy now. While we acknowledge the potential of LAES as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than LAES but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
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