The start of 2020 has presented a lot of volatility in the markets due to the widespread of the coronavirus which saw many companies crashing including airline companies and cruise liners being largely affected, and most recently the market witnessed barrels of crude tumbling to negative prices. Although the market has seen some crazy volatility and the general underperformance of small caps, it presented some remarkable opportunities in the market. Today we will be looking back at some of our stock picks since the middle of March, which as a group are up 846% in total since we put them on investors radars.

Greenlane Renewables (TSX-V: GRN) is a green energy company focused on providing clean tech solutions by turning methane gases in organic waste from farms, wastewater treatment plants and landfills, into clean, low carbon renewable natural gas. We first alerted investors of GRN at $.215 cents on March 24th 2020 in an article titled “3 Green Energy Companies To Track When Markets Rebound”. Since our publication of GRN at $.21 cents, shares of Greenlane have rallied to a high of $.49 cents giving it an ROI of 127% on our alert. GRN has not been very affected operationally as operations have resumed after a short-lived disruption in China in February. The CFO of GRN Lynda Freeman was quoted in the company’s Covid-19 update, “We continue to prudently manage our liquidity position during these uncertain times to react to the changing business climate. Interestingly, our business development activities have increased due primarily to the fact that customers are now isolated in front of their computers and progressing potential projects”. Greenlane has liquidity and an impressive backlog of orders and investors should keep a close eye on Greenlane’s growth in the coming months.

In a report published by the Globe and mail, Raveel Afzaal an analyst at Canaccord Genuity began coverage of GRN with a “speculative buy” with a price target of $.80 cents, and Globe’s content editor David Leeder wrote in a column titled Eye On Equities stated that the average target from analysts value shares of GRN at $1.10. If shares were to hit the average analyst target of $1.10 per share, this would represent a total gain of 411% from our alert at $.215 cents.

Xebec Adsorption Inc. (TSX-V: XBC) is a global provider of clean energy solutions that has bounced back very well since the recent downturn in the economy. We highlighted the importance of placing XBC on the radar of investors when shares dipped to $1.99 on March 24th,2020 and its shares have subsequently risen 85% since our alert, hitting a high of $3.69. Shares of XBC have now consolidated in the $3.30 range and is looking to create a possible leg higher. 

Xebec has recently filed its fourth quarter financial results and XBC reported an impressive $13.6 million in revenue for an increase of 123% when compared to the same period in 2018. Xebec generated a staggering $49.9 million for its full twelve-month period ending on December 31, 2019 for an increase of 144% for the same period in 2018. XBC also reported a positive EBITDA of $1.4 million for its Q4 of 2019 and an increase in working capital of $36.9 million. The CEO of XBC Kurt Sorschak stated “With our improved balance sheet, our strong order backlog, our growing quote log, our pipeline of potential acquisitions, and our position as an essential business in a time of crisis, Xebec will be well able to maneuver through what will be a difficult economic environment in the year ahead. We believe that we will emerge from this crisis even stronger than we entered it”. Xebec expects its revenues to triple in 2020 to $30 - $35 million through expansion and its planned acquisitions.

With XBC’s steady growth, this is a clean energy company investors will not want to miss out on as it may be on route to hit analyst targets at $7.00 per share as mentioned in our previous article. 

Kontrol Energy Corp (CSE: KNR) is another green tech company we have alerted to investors in the past due to their strong financial growth and rapid expansion across Canada and the United States. Shares of KNR have hit a high of $.38 cents on March 26th after our alert on March 16th at $.25 cents on March 16t , however shares of KNR are initially down 53% from when we first covered Kontrol Energy at $.60 cents in the past. Kontrol like many others have been hit hard by the current downturn in the capital markets although we do believe that the company is trading at a discount and will provide investors with a great opportunity for an entry. 

Kontrol has made several announcements lately regarding the company’s operations and its important to note that even though we have seen businesses slow down around the world and most notably the recent decline in oil prices, operations at Kontrol Energy have not seen any disruptions. KNR also stated that due to market volatility, that the company has postponed its Plan of Arrangement whereby shareholders would receive a dividend in the company’s wholly owned subsidiary Efficiency Engineering Inc. This is most probably due to the fact that the company’s shares are trading at $.28 cents when compared to when it was previously announced at $.60 cents. We believe that KNR may propose the Plan of Arrangement at a later date once the company’s shares trade at a higher price. 

On April 23rd 2020, KNR announced that the company will be reporting its year end financial statement on or before April 29th 2020. We will be paying close attention to the company’s fourth quarter results because KNR previously stated that it anticipates in reporting annual revenues around $15 - $16 million. At its current market cap of $8.3 million, this would value Kontrol Energy to half of its annual revenues and presents a deep discount to a more appropriate valuation. 

Sona Nanotech (CSE: SONA) is a Canadian life sciences company that is rapidly gaining traction due to its rapid testing kits the company is developing for Covid-19. Since our publication of “2 Coronavirus Stocks to Watch” shares of SONA have risen to a 52- week high of $2.25 from our alert at $.51 cents, for a total ROI of 341% since March 16th 2020! 

Since our last publication, SONA has provided an update to investors in regard to its point of care tests and proves just how far the company has come along. SONA has begun accepting pre-orders for an additional 1,250,000 units of its antigen test and it has engaged into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to manufacture the company’s second test at a manufacturing facility in North America. The CEO of SONA Darren Rowles was quoted “Development work on our test is largely complete and we have moved to an optimization stage utilizing a third party for the optimization process. In recent weeks, many antibody detecting tests have entered the market generating concerns over performance and applicability”.

Further to its announcement on April 13th 2020, SONA has also secured its OTCQB listing and has begun trading in the United States under the ticker symbol (OTCQB: SNANF). Having expanded the company’s exposure to the US market with an American listing may attract some investors to our neighbours to the south and can only stand to benefit from the added financial exposure a dual listing can provide.

We expect that SONA will be updating the market on details to the progression of its rapid test kits and onto delivering the company’s already 3,000,000 pre-orders! 

Algernon Pharmaceuticals (CSE: AGN) was one our top picks for coronavirus stocks which hit a new 52 week high on April 23rd 2020 as shares reached $.54 cents per share. We first alerted investors of AGN when shares where trading at $.17 cents on March 16th 2020 in our article titled “2 Coronavirus Stocks To Watch”. Since our alert on AGN, the company has risen 217% as AGN has continued positive progression to Phase 2 human trials with its re-purposed NP-120 (Ifenprodil) drug.

Recently, AGN has announced on April 23rd 2020, that the company has received regulatory approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and ethics approval in South Korea for its investigator-led Phase 2 clinical study for Covid-19. The Phase 2 human trials will consist of 40 patients during a 4-week trial and will be testing the efficacy of Ifenprodil in infected patients with Covid-19. Dr. Dong Sik Jung, Professor in the Division of Infectious Disease of Dong-A University Hospital in Busan, South Korea will be the lead principal investigator overseeing the trials and patient enrollment for Phase 2 clinical trials is set to take place on May 8th, 2020. The CEO of AGN Christopher Moreau stated, “This first human trial of Ifenprodil in COVID-19 patients is a major step forward with our new acute lung injury clinical research program”. 

As Algernon continues to progress in the company’s Phase 2 human trials in South Korea, further positive developments with Ifenprodil in treating patients infected with Covid-19 could send shares of AGN even higher if proven to be successful, so it might be wise to pay close attention to the developments of Phase 2 trials.

Geomega Resources (TSX-V: GMA) is a new rare earth recycling small cap stock we recently put on alert for investors in our article titled “Volume Alert on Shares of Geomega Resources Inc.” on April 16th 2020 at .145 cents. We first noticed the huge volume increase in shares of GMA which we alerted due to the volume increase of 204% on April 15th, 2020 and felt this was indicative of accumulation of stock. Following our alert, shares reached a high of $.18 cents shortly thereafter. However, shares of GMA have pulled back a little and seem to be consolidating in the $.15 - .16 cent range. Since our alert, GMA has announced that the company has retrofitted its pilot plant located in the National Research Council (NRC) in Boucherville Québec to commence the production of the companies every own hand sanitizer product. Geomega has already received its NPN and will shortly begin the production of hand sanitizer which will be distributed to retirement homes and hospitals across Québec. 

Although GMA has retrofitted its pilot plant to produce hand sanitizers at the moment, this has not deterred the company’s main objective which is to complete its magnet recycling plant and be in production towards the end of this year. Geomega has an incredibly low monthly burn rate and with this new pivot into producing hand sanitizer, this will help GMA obtain revenues in the coming weeks and will assist the company on its path to profitability!

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