Penny stocks might seem like a good investment because you can purchase many shares for a relatively small amount of money. But most of them represent businesses with questionable prospects at best, and owning thousands of shares of a worthless venture means your hard-earned money could vaporize before your eyes. To be blunt, penny stocks aren't worth it.
That's not to say individual investors have to maintain a boring wealth-building strategy. While high-risk, high-reward stocks shouldn't comprise a significant share of your portfolio, the world won't end if you reserve a small amount of your funds for riskier stocks. Why not have a little fun?
If you want to swear off penny stocks but still add some excitement to your portfolio, then consider gene-editing pioneer Precision BioSciences (NASDAQ: DTIL) and checkpoint-inhibitor developer Deciphera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: DCPH).