Complete buy, sell or hold analysis

Trading activity is a sure sign that the stock price will move; the question then becomes: what direction will it take? While trading volume is a sign of market interest, it never tells you whether bulls or bears are active. This knowledge comes from other factors, including fundamentals, market outlook, earnings, sentiment and technical indicators, that must align for these stocks to advance and sustain their gains.

Penny stocks are risky and volatile because thin markets lead to sharp movements; the higher the volume, the better. This is a look at three of the most active Penny Stocks ranked by Marketbeat.com and whether they are Buy, Sell or Hold.

Nikola’s Volume Is Growing Higher and Higher: The Company Turns the Corner: Hold on

Nicholas NASDAQ:NKLA it is still struggling with profits, liquidity and capital needs, but there are signs it is indicating a turnaround. The company recently began returning recalled BEV trucks to customers and is increasing production and sales of FCEVs. The FCEV is the real story as it provides greater autonomy and flexibility with lower user costs and is the most likely path to success for the company. Recent news includes the production of forty-three Tre FCEVs, all sold. Forty were sold in the first quarter; the rest will be delivered this month. The bottom line is that Nikola is in its revenue-generating phase and is expected to increase EV sales over time.

As for volume, Nikola has appeared at or near the top of the most active penny stock charts in recent months. The stock’s average daily volume quadrupled in 2023 and recently doubled again. The surge in volume is consistent with the trough and a potential reversal supported by indicators. The MACD and Stochastic suggest an upward movement for this market with plenty of room to run. Technically, the stock could advance to the $1.60 and $3.00 levels without hitting the resistance holding the market back. Analysts have steadily lowered their price targets, but still see 1000 basis points of upside at the low end of their range and 50% at the consensus.

Power supply is declining – sell

Connect the power NASDAQ: PLUG volume started to increase in late 2023 following the going concern notice and stock price implosion. However, as confident and promising as the market is with recent developments, the company’s stock is still in a downtrend. While Plug has helped its liquidity position, it will lean on dilutive efforts and may still (likely) need to raise additional funds before it crosses the line into sustained profitability.

Short interest is a risk for this stock and for Nikola. Nikola short sellers are selling into the rally and have raised interest to 20%. They could limit your gains and cause a market decline. Short sellers of Plug Power have no rally to sell into, but they are still selling and have increased interest in that stock to 25% on the last trading date. Analysts rate Plug as a Hold and see nearly 100% upside from consensus, but they have downgraded and lowered the price target enough that this stock is also on the Most Downgraded and Rated Stocks pages lower, a huge headwind for price action.

CXApp Inc. is showing a strong buy signal

CXApp Inc. NASDAQ:CXAI is a business app that recently announced an expanded partnership with Google. That announcement spurred a rally that began the month before to a new high, characterized by record volumes. The technical picture alone makes this stock a speculative buy and its position in the cloud helps the outlook. The risk for investors is that the platform has yet to be implemented, expected this summer. A single analyst rates this stock a Buy, but there is no price target. The technical outlook suggests that this stock could double or triple if it manages to break above the $7.50 level. A move to $7.50 is worth 50%, with shares near $5.00.

Before you consider Nikola, you’ll want to hear this.

MarketBeat tracks daily Wall Street’s highest-rated and best-performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients. MarketBeat identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market takes hold… and Nikola wasn’t on the list.

While Nikola currently has a “Hold” rating among analysts, top analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View the five stocks here