The U.S. economy is heading into 2025 with strong tailwinds, according to several indicators, including a strong labor market and moderate inflation. Many of the securities that have been the main beneficiaries of this economic bonanza are large-cap (or even mega-cap) titans in the technology industry.
Companies such as NVIDIA Corp. NASDAQ: NVDA have shares whose price has doubled or even tripled in the year leading up to December 11, 2024.
For many investors, these big players can be prohibitively expensive. Their rapid rise in the last few quarters may also prompt some investors to remain cautious as the bulk of the rally is now behind them. In these cases, it may make sense to look instead at small-cap companies, many of which operate primarily or exclusively in the US rather than on a global scale.
Small-cap firms can be a great way to purposefully expand their exposure to the U.S. economy while avoiding the risk of an even smaller market cap in the microcap space.
Small-cap companies may also benefit from increased M&A activity following a period of high inflation in 2022 and 2023. Likewise, small-cap companies tend to have an easier time financing their growth and scaling their operations when interest rates are trending upward. below. If inflation remains low—and if interest rates fall in 2025, as some analysts predict—small-cap companies could get an even bigger boost.
IMNM: Is a promising drug candidate already priced in the stock?
Forecast of immunity reserves today
$28.83
Growth potential 129.20%Buy
Based on ratings of 7 analysts
| High forecast | US$35.00 |
|---|---|
| Average forecast | $28.83 |
| Low forecast | $21.00 |
Details of the forecast of immunity reserves
Immunom Inc. NASDAQ: IMNM has a market cap of $876 million as of Dec. 11, putting it squarely in small-cap territory. The biotech firm creates treatments for various types of cancer and has many promising products in various stages of development.
The company’s most important product that investors should watch at the moment is AL102, a lead asset in phase 3 studies of certain types of fibromatosis. AL102 has great potential as a treatment compared to products currently available on the market. What’s more, Immunome has cash reserves to support another four or five quarters, which should give it plenty of time to bring AL102 to market, assuming the remaining trials go smoothly.
Investors should ask whether IMNM’s share price reflects the potential of this breakthrough drug candidate. IMNM shares are up more than 91% in the year to Dec. 11, suggesting the market may have already priced in a significant amount of value associated with the expectation of AL102’s success. However, IMNM shares have fallen by nearly half from their 52-week peak of over $27 each reached in March of this year, so the stock’s trajectory is challenging.
AENT: big improvements, room to grow
Entertainment e-commerce company Alliance Entertainment Holding Corp. had a market capitalization of just $315 million as of Dec. 11. NASDAQ: AENT is on the cusp of becoming a micro-cap firm. For a closer look, it’s worth looking at where the company was a year ago: During that time, shares rose from just over 80 cents each to $6.53.
This tremendous growth was driven by Alliance’s aggressive efforts to improve its efficiency and overall operations over the past few quarters. The company has cut distribution and fulfillment costs by implementing automation and increased its profits by focusing on direct-to-consumer sales strategies, which now account for more than a third of gross revenue.
Alliance reported improved net revenues, which came in at $229 million in the most recent quarter, and recently posted a net profit compared to a net loss in the prior year quarter. Revolver’s debt is reduced, which helps improve liquidity and further reduce costs.
All of these signs point to great success for AENT, and it’s no surprise that share prices have been steadily rising as the company has made these improvements. But the stock still appears to be undervalued, with a P/S ratio of just 0.29 as of mid-December. This may be why short interest in AENT stock dropped significantly in November.
HNRG: Potential data center partnership
Hallador Energy stock forecast for today
US$15.00
Growth potential 21.07%Buy
Based on 2 analysts’ estimates
| High forecast | $17.00 |
|---|---|
| Average forecast | US$15.00 |
| Low forecast | $13.00 |
Hallador Energy Stock Forecast Details
Halladore Energy Co. NASDAQ: HNRG is a relatively small thermal coal company operating in Indiana. Unlike other companies on this list, Hallador has not outperformed the market significantly in recent months, with the company’s total annual return as of Dec. 11 being just 12.8%.
One reason Hallador’s stock is noteworthy is its announcement in mid-November that it had recently signed a non-binding agreement with a data center developer. Given Indiana’s recent efforts to attract data center customers, Halladore is a likely candidate to power new developments.
A major partnership of this kind will increase the company’s revenue and may lead to additional agreements with other partners. For now, however, investors will have to wait and see if an agreement materializes; if so, HNRG stock could resume its upward trend.
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