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Volatile stocks are a day trader’s dream come true. They provide a large enough price range, even in one day, to reap large rewards. The wide high and low numbers allow day traders space for entry and exit. Even if they initially place a trade in the wrong direction, they will probably have time to enter the market again and still make a profit.
How to define Volatile Stocks
Volatile stocks are defined as such when their price range greatly exceeds the average price range over a given period. As some stocks are quoted at a few dollars while others are quoted in hundreds of dollars, it is more useful to use percentages.
The chart below shows the average daily volatility of the broad S&P 500 over the past 10 years. As we can see most of the volatility is between up 1% and down 1%. For any 5-day period, you would expect the price range of this index to increase or decrease by around 5% or less.
Clearly, a broad index will be less volatile than a single stock. However, using the S&P 500 as a benchmark helps understand just how volatile some stocks are at certain times.
Source: Chartr.co
Most Volatile Stocks in March 2022
Let’s have a look at stocks experiencing an increased bout of volatility over the past week and that are among the highest movers over the past month. We’ll take a look at their latest performance and what most likely caused these stocks to rally or crash.
1. Forge Global Holdings, Inc. (FRGE:NYSE)
The company’s stock has rocketed 158.7% over the past 5 days. The stock debuted on the NYSE on March 22 with a price of $11.06 at the session opening. The stock then rallied to a day high of $26.90 for an increase of 143.2%.
The company’s stock price has continued to rise, reaching $37.64 at the time of writing, for an increase of 240.33% since it went public.
FRGE is a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) set up to invest in private companies, through a merger or acquisition. Once the acquisition is made, the company goes public on a stock exchange. This process avoids the lengthy time scale and hefty fees of an IPO.
Source: TradingView
2. Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. (DRCT:NASDAQ)
DRCT has jumped 135.21% over the past 5 days. On March 30, the market open price created a large gap from the previous day’s open of $2.51 to open at $4.70, closing the day at $5.20. The stock is up 200% over the past month, and up 57.3% YTD.
Digital Direct Holdings is a prominent advertising and marketing technology group. The company released its full-year earnings report on March 30. The report exceeded expectations showing the company more than doubled revenue in 2021 compared to 2020.
Source: TradingView
3. Clever Leaves Holdings, Inc. (CLVR:NASDAQ)
This stock has increased by 96.3% over the past 5 days and is up 124.58% over the past month. Having said that, it is still down by 17.5% since the beginning of the year.
Clever Leaves is an international producer of pharmaceutical-grade cannabis. The company announced on March 22, a partnership with InterCure (INCR:NASDAQ). InterCure is Israel’s leading international medical cannabis company.
The agreement will allow InterCure to use Clever Leaves’ high-THC medical cannabis flower. While Clever Leaves will cultivate InterCure’s high-quality strains to introduce EU-GMP compliant branded products in the EU, UK, and South American markets.
To add fuel to the rally Clever Leaves released its Q4 and full-year earnings for 2021 that greatly outpaced expectations on March 24. The company reported an increase in revenue of 25% for Q4 2021 and an increase of 27% for the full-year earnings.
Source: TradingView
4. IGM Biosciences, Inc. (IGMS:NASADQ)
Stocks of this company rallied 120% on March 29 and are currently still up 84.11% over the past 5 days. IGMS has almost caught up on levels seen at the start of the year and is down only 2% YTD. While over the past month it is up 70%.
IGM Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that focuses mainly on creating IgM antibodies. On March 29, it simultaneously announced its earnings report for Q4 and FY 2021, and a global collaboration agreement with Sanofi (SNY:NASDAQ).
The arrangement stipulates IGM Biosciences will receive an upfront payment of $150 million. Further, IGMS could potentially receive another $6 billion if development, regulatory, and commercial milestones are reached.
The earnings report was in line with analyst estimates, although they were dire. The company reported net losses of $50.6 million for Q4 2021, compared to net losses of $24.6 million for Q4 2020. Net losses for FY 2021, were $165.2 million compared to $81.4 million for FY 2020.
Source: TradingView
5. Allego N.V. (ALLG:NYSE)
Allego saw a sharp increase in price when it spiked on March 23 from a low of $9.28 to a high on the day of $23.91. That’s an increase of 157.65% in one trading session. The stock is up 74.5% over the past 5 days, and up 79.9% over the past month.
It seems the rally was sparked by a strong interest in social media sites such as Twitter and the stock market community StockTwits.
The increase in social media activity came on the same day Allego’s CEO announced that he would participate in the JP Morgan Global ESG conference. More specifically, on the panel for the Electrification of Europe and the Future of EV Charging.
Source: TradingView
6. Hillstream BioPharma, Inc. (HILS:NASDAQ)
The stock has experienced an increase of 40.97% over the past 5 days. Previously the company’s share price had been falling since its IPO in January 2022. YTD the stock is down 41.6%, while over the last month it has regained some ground and is up 18%.
The stock price reached an all-time low on March 15, when it touched $1.15, it has since then been on the rise with the latest quote at $2.03. That equals a 76.5% run over 11 trading sessions. The biggest jump came on March 30, when it rose to $2.75 before closing at $2.03.
HILS is a biotechnology company that specializes in developing novel therapeutic candidates for ferroptosis. The technology is a new anti-cancer mechanism resulting in the cell death of drug-resistant and devastating cancers.
Source: TradingView
7. Oblong Inc. (OBLG:NASDAQ)
Oblong has experienced a sharp increase in price over the past 5 days rising 28.23%. However, the stock is still struggling to regain its all-time highs and is down 11.45% and 36.36% over the last month and YTD respectively.
Oblong is an award-winning maker of multi-stream collaboration solutions. Some of its clients include Ford, BlackRock, IBM, and Under Armour. The company released earnings on March 30, highlights of the report show revenue increased 10% for 2021 compared to 2020.
Source: TradingView
8. Mullen Automotive, Inc. (MULN:NASDAQ)
This stock is noteworthy for its last month’s performance, the stock is up 205.8% over the past month. While it is Down 4.11% over the past 5 days and still down 47.8% YTD. On March 30, the stock rallied 33.48% in one day, going from an open of $2.27 to a close of $3.03.
Mullen Automotive is an electric vehicle maker based in southern California. The company is targeting delivering its first Model 5 EVs by October 2024. The cars are competitively priced, starting at $55,000, with high performance.
On March 30, Mullen Automotive CEO David Michery claimed in an interview that a major Fortune 500 company would be buying its cargo vans. This statement comes a few days after the company said it expects to report a cash position of $65 million.
Source: TradingView
9. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (AKBA:NASDAQ)
Akebia stocks have fallen in price by 66.77% over the past 5 days, with a loss of 63.2% in just one day on March 30. The drop happened in after-hours trading, where the stock price opened a gap from its close at $2.015 to open trading after hours at $0.882.
AKBA is a biopharmaceutical company that addresses the complications of kidney disease. The company has commercially available drugs and is seeking approval from the FDA for Phase 3 clinical development of its new drug Vadadustat.
On March 30 the company announced that the FDA had denied the company Phase 3 approval. The FDA stated that the benefit-risk assessment was not favorable because of safety concerns regarding liver failure and thromboembolic events.
Source: TradingView
10. Revelation Biosciences, Inc. (REVB:NASDAQ)
The stock’s price has fallen over the past 5 days by 35.29%, with a small drop of 5.04% over the past month, but down a whopping 86.85% YTD. On March 30, REVB shares opened a gap at the bell, trading at $0.83 from the previous close of $2.14, for a drop of 61.68%.
Revelation Biosciences is a clinical-stage life sciences company that specializes in the development of immunologic-based therapies. The therapies under trial are aimed at prevention as well as treatment.
On March 30 the company announced the final results of a Phase 2b viral study of one of its intranasal products for preventive treatment of H3N2 Influenza. The trial studies suggest that there was no significant difference between the intranasal product and the placebo.
Source: TradingView
11. Fast Radius, Inc. (FSRD:NASDAQ)
This stock is down 35.73% over the past 5 days, it has lost 28.85 over the past month, and is down 84.65% YTD. On March 30. The stock opened at $1.83 creating a gap from its previous close of $2.24.
Fast Radius is an additive manufacturing company that offers design, testing, and production-grade manufacturing. The company has over 4700 clients worldwide, is based in Chicago with an office in Singapore.
On March 30, the company released its Q4 and FY 2021 earnings report. Highlights from the report show that the company had a net loss of $22.9 million in 2021, compared to a net loss of $5.0 million in 2020. The large increase in losses came despite a 52% rise in revenue which reached $6.4 million, compared to $4.2 million in 2020.
Source: TradingView
12. Calithera Biosciences, Inc. (CALA:NASDAQ)
This stock’s price has lost 25.13% over the past 5 days, with a loss of 21.97% over the past month, and is down 42.64% YTD.
Calithera Biosciences, Inc. is a clinical-stage, precision oncology biopharmaceutical company. The company is developing a biomarker approach to target genetic vulnerabilities in cancer cells. The treatments are aimed at patients suffering from solid tumor cancers, which have limited treatment options.
On March 30, the company announced the previously underwritten public offering of 18,518,519 shares would be priced at $0.54 per share. The shares come with two options to buy 1 common share at the strike price of $0.54, the expiry of 1 option is 18 months, the second option expires at 5 years.
Source: TradingView
Wrapping Up
Investing in individual stocks is much riskier than investing in a broad index fund. You should consider if your risk tolerance is high enough to bear the extra volatility, especially in stocks like the ones mentioned above. Make sure you speak to a financial advisor before making an investment decision, especially in a high-risk asset category.
To invest in individual stocks through an IRA you would need to set up a Self-Directed IRA. Or, you may want to let professional managers take care of picking stocks and invest in a hedge fund. If you prefer to manage your investments yourself, several companies offer specifically designed services, you can read more about top-rated Self-Directed IRA companies in our review.
Gino D'Alessio is a Broker/Dealer with over twenty years experience in various OTC markets such as Bonds, FX and Derivatives. Currently a Financial Markets and Investments Writer & Analyst
