3 Under-the-Radar Biotechs Under $5 That Could Soar 200%
Investing in biotechnology stocks is typically reserved for speculative investors. For starters, many of these companies are clinical or pre-clinical stage companies. They’re not yet profitable, and many are even pre-revenue, meaning the long-term payoff will likely be years away.
However, many of these stocks fall into the penny stock category (i.e., stocks that trade for less than $5 per share), which is appealing to speculative traders chasing technical signals for quick profits.
For investors with patience and conviction, small-cap biotech stocks may offer the opportunity to scale into positions with the potential for outsized long‑term returns. That's the case with these three under-the-radar biotech stocks, which trade for less than $5 but offer patient investors the potential for significant long-term upside.
Hoth: Pre-Clinical Cancer Research with Big Market Potential
Hoth Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: HOTH) is the strongest performer on this list. HOTH stock is up 98% in 2025. However, at around $1.50 per share, the stock is 35% down from the 12-month high it made in January.
With multiple pre-clinical assets, including an obesity drug candidate, HOTH offers speculative investors exposure to two high-demand markets: oncology and weight-loss treatments.
Investor enthusiasm is focused on the company’s pre-clinical oncology candidate, HT-KIT, which uses mRNA technology to treat gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), systemic mastocytosis, and certain leukemias. In laboratory settings (i.e. in vitro), HT-KIT recently achieved over 80% knockdown of KIT expression, which is the oncogenic driver in multiple aggressive cancers.
With only two out of its six candidates in active clinical trials, Hoth Therapeutics is still in the pre-revenue stage. But investors are piling in because one of the company’s pre-clinical candidates, HT-VA, is for obesity, a growing addressable market. The treatment is based on technology that Hoth has exclusively licensed from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In fact, analysts are projecting a consensus price target of $4, which is a 150% upside from its already lofty levels.
Silo Pharma: Psychedelics, Obesity Treatment, and a Crypto Twist
The growing obesity market is a nice lead-in to Silo Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: SILO). SILO stock is down 29% in 2025 but is up more than 7% in the last three months, largely due to a non-binding letter of intent to form a 50/50 joint venture with Hoth Therapeutics to develop Hoth’s HT-VA obesity drug candidate. If successful, this partnership would give Silo exposure to the rapidly growing obesity treatment market, expected to reach over $100 billion globally.
That’s a little different from Silo’s primary focus to develop “novel formulations of traditional and psychedelic therapeutics.” To that end, the company has four candidates in the pre-clinical stage, including SP-26 for fibromyalgia and SPU-16 for multiple sclerosis.
Another reason that may appeal to speculative investors is Silo’s recent launch of a cryptocurrency treasury strategy. The company is targeting Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana investments and will utilize staking to generate yield while focusing on capital preservation.
Anixa: Micro-Cap Cancer Play with Major Partnerships
Anixa Biosciences (NASDAQ: ANIX) focuses on oncology and is slightly further along in its development path.
Two of the company's five drugs are in Phase 1 clinical trials. One of those uses CAR-T immunotherapy to treat ovarian cancer by activating a patient’s immune cells (T cells) to kill sick or damaged cells. The other uses vaccine technology to generate tumor-specific antigens.
Adding to the bull case, each of the company’s candidates is being developed via partnerships with either the Moffitt Cancer Center, the Cleveland Clinic, or the U.S. Department of Defense.
Anixa is not heavily covered by analysts, but three analysts gave the stock a consensus price target of $10, a 197% upside for the stock.
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