Some of us have probably heard of someone that invested in famous penny stocks and quadrupled their money. Or, what about that person making millions from investing in an undiscovered company that rocketed to the moon? There are also those who invested their life savings and lost it all. There is no doubt penny stocks can be very risky and dangerous. However, with the risk comes the potential for massive rewards. Researching for this blog was fun; it gave hope. Not all penny stocks are garbage; sometimes, it pays to hold on to them for the long haul. With that being said, here are three famous penny stocks that once traded at penny stock levels (under $5).
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What Big Companies Started Out as Penny Stocks?
Here are some famous penny stocks that aren’t necessarily pennies anymore. However, they can head back down to penny stock territory. Stocks like Pier One, Ford, and Sirius XM have started out as pennies. We look at them now as potentially great trades. However, they’re not always moving like crazy. So keep that in mind.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)
Did you know Apple was once a part of famous penny stocks? With humble beginnings, Apple was started by Steve Jobs in his parent’s garage when he was 20. As an unwanted, adopted, and bullied child, Steve most certainly wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
Despite that fact, Apple has grown into a $2 trillion-dollar company with over 150,000. In fact, Apple became the first company to record a market value of $2 trillion. Overall, their net worth as of 2020 is an impressive $65 billion.
Currently, Apple is the most valuable company in the world. Moreover, they’ve even surpassed Google, Microsoft and the largest oil company in the world, Exxon Mobil.
It may come as a surprise to you – I know it sure did for me; Apple wasn’t always the industry giant we know of today. But, shockingly, in 2003, AAPL was trading for under $1 a share; yes, you read that right! Now, Apple shares sell for around $150.
If you had the cahonas to buy then, you’d be sitting pretty. For example, $5000 invested in Apple would now be worth over $760,000 as Apple’s stock currently trades at over $152 per share. That’s well over a 15,100% gain for investors that held tight.
Apple is one of those companies you’ll likely want to have in your portfolio. Personally, I don’t think it’s ever a bad idea to invest in apple. Even if you think you don’t have the money to own shares outright, you can trade them for a fraction of the price. And no, I’m not making this up. All you need to do is check out our course in options to get started.
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN)
Do you ever kick yourself for not investing in Amazon way back in the day? As a matter of fact, it was once a part of famous penny stocks. That’s right. When this behemoth went public in 1997, it would have cost you just under $2 a share.
That’s right, under $2 per share. Come IPO day on May 15th, 1997, it was priced at $18.00 per share. And the ride was wild; it underwent several splits early, rapidly climbed to $5013.32 per share, then dropped to $1.02.
If you dropped $10,000 in Amazon when it made its IPO back in 1997, you would’ve paid $18 and secured 555 shares. Had you held onto those shares, your investment would be worth more than $1.9 million today! Wow.
Earlier this year, Amazon it a high of over $3,500 per share. Crazy. That’s an insane increase since its IPO. Nothing more to be said. Boom.
Monster Beverages NASDAQ: MNST
I’m reasonably sure we’ve all heard of Monster Beverages. Heck, with a market cap of around $11 billion, you’d have to be living under a rock not to. As one of the most popular energy drinks on the market, Monster now trades around $66 a share.
Back in 2003, savvy investors could have scored Monster shares for as low as $0.25. Instead, this former penny stock has seen massive gains for investors that have continued to hold for the past decade. Hence why they’re a part of our famous penny stocks list.
How to Spot Penny Stocks Before They Rocket To The Moon
Has anyone gotten rich from penny stocks? Absolutely. However, it is unlikely unless you have experts to mentor you in penny stock trading. Unfortunately, I don’t have a crystal ball to predict famous penny stocks prices; I’d be rich if I did.
But one thing I know for sure is that all stocks leave clues before they take off.
Here’s a great go-to checklist of clues and tips you may want to pay attention to:
1.) Any big percentage gainers should grab your attention.
2.) Look for stocks with high volume.
3.) Any news catalyst makes things interesting.
4.) Look for spikes on the long-term chart.
5.) The golden clue: use a scanner!
Be Wary Of Investing In True “Penny Stocks”
Many PENNY STOCKS are actual “Story stocks,” and because one person or group of persons can control the “float” or worse game or “pump” the stocks vis a vis IR and like promotion, they hope to cause an order imbalance and create the illusion, there is a sudden rush to buy “pumped” shares.
Why would someone do this? This goes really to the heart of why one should be EXTREMELY careful – if not avoid – “betting big on penny stocks” – liquidity.
Absent a real market like NASDAQ, NYSE; the OTC bulletin boards are not the same markets. The shares that trade on OTC are often illiquid, sans an IR promo, and the promoters are usually being paid with stock to hype it, but worse, they hope to sell into it! That’s right; they are betting, you’ll be suckered into chasing this increasing share price, which, when at pennies, could look like 50% to 300% a day.
Realize that once the steam runs out and the pumpers have sold, you might be left holding the overinflated balloon of shares in your account. With no one to buy your shares, you stuck with them. And sadly, there is nowhere for the shares to go but down.
Conclusion
Unless you had that ball, there was no way of knowing that Apple, Monster, or Google would have the astronomical success it has had two decades ago as famous penny stocks. As they say, hindsight is always 20/20, so don’t beat yourself up for missing out. Because for every company like Apple, there are hundreds of tech penny stocks that fail. What you can do is learn how to trade penny stocks. Not all of them are created equally, so Bullish Bears will help you identify the ones you want to trade.
