If you are looking to invest in lesser-value artificial intelligence and related (AI&R) stocks, albeit very volatile, consider one or more of the 10 highlighted in this article.

Once upon a time a penny stock referred to a stock trading for less than $1/share but, these days, it refers to the stock of a company that trades for less than $5 per share. Penny stocks are usually considered high-risk investments due to their low price, lack of liquidity, small market capitalization, and wide bid-ask spread. Most penny stocks trade via over-the-counter transactions, hence a cautionary note from TalkMarkets that "penny and/or micro-cap stocks...are easily manipulated; do your own careful due diligence". Access the stock symbols provided to do your own research.

The list below is of 10 "penny" stocks that are trading for less than $5.00/share and also have market capitalizations of more than $100M along with their short interest percentage, and their stock returns in July, in August, in descending order, and YTD.  None are being recommended, per se, but rather, are highlighted as possible opportunities to profit from the speculative frenzy in AI&R stocks.

1. Rekor Systems (REKR): UP 21.7% in August; UP 70.8% in July; UP 217.5% YTD 
   • Short Interest: 7.2%
   • Read: AI Could Become A Trillion Dollar Industry In The Next 5 Years – Rekor Systems Q2 Financial Results Seem To Highlight The Booming Industry's Growth
2. SoundHound AI (SOUN): UP 8.2% in August; DOWN 48.8% in July; UP 42.4% YTD
   • Short Interest: 11.2%
   • Read: SoundHound AI Reports Second Quarter Revenue Increase of 42%, Adjusted EBITDA Improves 50%, Strong Increase in Cash Position, Investment in Generative AI Foundation Model
3. Presto Automation (PRST): DOWN 16.3% in August; DOWN 23.8% in July; UP 39.3% YTD
   • Short Interest: 1.1%
   • Read: Investors Appear Satisfied With Presto Automation Inc.'s Prospects
4. BigBear.ai (BBAI): DOWN 18.4% in August; DOWN 14.5% in July; UP 156.7% YTD
   • Short Interest: 13.5%
   • Read; BigBear.ai Announces Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results
5. Rigetti Computing (RGTI): DOWN 27.7% in August; UP 111.0% in July; UP 152.1% YTD
   • Short Interest: 7.6%
   • Read: Rigetti: A Quantum Computing Company to Monitor
6. Butterfly Networks (BFLY): DOWN 31.1% in August; UP 11.7% in July; DOWN 24.4% YTD
   • Short Interest: 16.7% - A high short interest signals that investors have become more bearish and that it may be time to liquidate a long position.
   • Read: Butterfly Network, Inc. Reports Q2 Loss, Tops Revenue Estimates
7. Veritone (VERI): DOWN 33.5% in August; UP 17.9% in July; DOWN 40.0% YTD
   • Short Interest: 12.5%
   • Read: Veritone, Inc. (VERI) Reports Q2 Loss, Tops Revenue Estimates
8. Verses AI (VRSSF): DOWN 38.8% in August; DOWN 8.4% in July; UP 97.8% YTD
   • Short Interest: NA
9. Innoviz Technologies (INVZ): DOWN 44.1% in August; UP 44.4% in July; DOWN 39.9% YTD
   • Short interest: 7.1%
   • Read: Innoviz Reports Second-Quarter 2023 Results and Increases 2023 Financial Targets Following Continued Commercial Momentum
10. D-Wave Quantum (QBTS): DOWN 44.8% in August; UP 0.5% in July; DOWN 22.2% YTD
    • Short Interest: 2.8%
    • Read: D-Wave Announces Increased Performance of Newest Quantum Hybrid Solver Available in the Leap Real-Time Quantum Cloud Service

The average market capitalization of the above 10 stocks is $274M with an average stock price of $2.25. Only 2 stocks were up in August compared to 6 in July. In total,

• the above portfolio was UP 24.6% in July but was DOWN 36.1% in August and is now only UP 10.9% YTD indicating that the bubble in AI "penny" stocks has been pricked. 

In comparison, rather than choosing a specific stock, investors might want to consider buying 

• the:Global X Artificial Intelligence and Technology ETF (AIQ) which has 93 constituents of various market capitalizations and $0.68 in expenses which was UP 5.5% in July, DOWN 3.2% in August and UP 43.4% YTD or
• the Robo Global Artificial Intelligence ETF (THNQ) of 72 constituents of various market capitalizations and $0.68 in expenses which was UP 5.4% in July, DOWN 4.9% in August and UP 42.6% YTD.

Naturally, it is imperative that you do your own due diligence before making a decision to do so as my comments are not recommendations, per se. I hope this article has made you aware of the opportunities.

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