Small-cap stocks are more important than ever. The combined forces of falling interest rates and business-friendly presidential policies are expected to create economic tailwinds in 2025 and a broadening stock market rally including small caps. The small-cap stocks on the list today are well-positioned for gains in 2025 without the benefit of tailwinds and the insiders are buying.
Insider buying is never a guarantee that the stock price will advance; it is a reliable signal that the stock has value and a high potential to advance.
Insiders Buy CalciMedica: Primary Candidate Advancing Through Trials
CalciMedica (NASDAQ: CALC) is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on treatments using calcium-channel inhibitors. Its leading candidate is Auxora, which is advancing through trials and showing high efficacy against its targets and related diseases. The latest data show 100% and 64% reductions in new-onset and repeated-onset respiratory failures for pancreatic disease patients, respectively. The drug is now on track for its Phase III trials, which is expected to begin soon. CalciMedica has yet to generate revenue, but it is on track to do so within the next three to five years.
CalciMedica insiders are taking advantage of the stock's low price. The group, including the CEO, chairman, and other board members, has been buying the stock since it IPOd and own a considerable amount of the shares. Total insider ownership including large shareholders, private equity, and venture capital is over 40%; the company’s executives control a little more than 10%. Institutions, which own another 15% of the stock, are also buying.
The analysts are optimistic. InsiderTrades.com tracks only four with current reports, but they are bullish, rating the stock as a firm Buy with a price target offering a double-digit upside. The lowest price target issued by a major analyst is $16 or 360% upside, which is good enough.
The consensus price target implies a 460% upside for this market, and the high end adds another few thousand basis points to it. The most significant risk for investors is dilution. The company’s stock count doubled in the last year, and a new offering is on the table. The company’s balance sheet is OK, but losses continue to mount as the trials and development pipeline advance.
BKV Corporation: Net-Zero Natural Gas Operations by 2030
BKV Corporation (NYSE: BKV) is the US arm of Banpu Public Company Ltd, an international energy player. BKV is a natural gas play with operations in Texas and Pennsylvania and an aggressive take on sustainability. The company aims to be net-zero by 2030, the most aggressive target of any energy player. Net zero will be reached by reducing emissions, controlling methane emissions from wells, and carbon capture. The company IPOd in late 2024 but is already seeing aggressive action in its share prices, aided by insider buying.
Insiders made a big impression following the IPO, buying the stock the day after it launched, lifting total insider holdings to over 5%. Numerous insiders, including the CEO, CFO, VP, and director, made the purchases. Analysts' activity is also bullish, with eight major firms initiating coverage in the first two months of trading. They peg the stock at a firm Buy and see it advancing to a consensus of $25, or about 25% of upside from the $20 level. The most aggressive targets, issued by Citigroup, Mizuho, and Jeffries Financial Group, put the stock in the range of $28 to $29 or another 1500 to 2000 bps above consensus.
Among the catalysts for this market are growth and earnings. The company’s first report was lackluster with start-up costs and investments offsetting revenue and cash flow, but things will change soon. The analysts forecast a 25% top-line advance and profitability in 2025.
