The S&P 500 ($SPX) was barely in the red on Tuesday, down 0.2% on the day. With a war on, that’s not a bad day.

That said, it was volatile, ranging from a high of 6,845.08 to a low of 6,759.74, closing the day at 6,781.48. It is now down nearly 1% in 2026. 

There were 119 new 52-week highs on the NYSE and Nasdaq yesterday and 157 new 52-week lows. As daily numbers go, that’s rather benign. Generally, in 2026, both the 52-week highs and lows have been in the hundreds. This suggests investors aren’t sure where the market is heading.

Among the 157 new 52-week lows, I thought I’d focus on penny stocks. On the Nasdaq, there were 79 penny stocks ($5 or less) and 8 on the NYSE. Excluding those under $1, three stood out as possible bets for extreme risk-takers. 

Here’s why. 

#1. Biote Corp. (BTMD)

Biote Corp. (BTMD) hit a new 52-week low of $1.68 yesterday. It was the 22nd in the past 12 months. Its share price is down 35% in 2026. 

Biote operates a scalable practice-building platform in the hormone optimization sector for certified practitioners to implement personalized hormone replacement therapy (HRT) programs. 

The company’s tools include practitioner education and certification, practice and inventory management software, HRT product sourcing, and marketing support, complemented by a proprietary line of dietary supplements.

It makes money in two primary ways: fees for use of the company’s Biote Method tools and revenue from the sale of its proprietary dietary supplements. 

Why is the stock down 35% in 2026 and 59% in the past year? We’ll know more after it reports Q4 2025 results today after the markets close. 

The company adopted a new organizational structure in May 2025 to accelerate growth in the number of new practitioners, strengthen relationships with existing practitioner clinics, and improve its financial position. 

Very much a work in progress -- it brought on a new CEO in February 2025 -- it has rebuilt its commercial team to focus on these priorities. 

The important thing to note is that despite the turmoil and decline in revenue, it is profitable -- gross profit margins through the first nine months of 2025 were 72.6%, 250 basis points higher than a year ago -- generating an operating profit of $37.3 million in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2025.  

Based on the 12-month free cash flow of $34.4 million and an enterprise value of $140.5 million according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, it has a high free cash flow yield of 24.5%. I consider anything above 8% to be value territory. 

At less than $2 and profitable, a Hail Mary couldn’t hurt. 

#2. KinderCare Learning Companies (KLC)

KinderCare Learning Companies (KLC) hit a new 52-week low of $3.20 yesterday. It was the 40th in the past 12 months. Its share price is down 26% in 2026. 

Of the three penny stocks, KinderCare is the name I’m familiar with. Founded in 1969, it is the largest private provider of high-quality ECE (early education and child care services) in the U.S. by the number of students. It serves children aged 6 weeks to 12 years through its 1,500 early childhood education centers, with a capacity for over 200,000 children.

I can remember a friend of mine years ago harping on the first three years of a child’s life being the most important. KinderCare leans into that. 

KinderCare went public in October 2024, selling 24 million shares at $24 each. It used most of the $535 million in net proceeds to pay down some of its $1.5 billion in long-term debt. 

As you can tell from the IPO price -- down 87% in 17 months -- a whole lot has gone wrong since going public. Either that, or it was extremely overvalued at its IPO.

The first place I’ve looked for answers is its Swiss-based private equity owner, Partners Group, which acquired KinderCare for an enterprise value of $1.5 billion in July 2015. At the time, it had 1,400 centers in 38 states, operating under the KinderCare, CCLC (Children’s Creative Learning Centers), and Champions banners. It was the private equity firm’s largest U.S. purchase in its history.  

Generally, private equity firms like to buy businesses with significant leverage and then exit their positions through IPO or sale within a few years. In this case, it took 9 years to reach an IPO, in large part because COVID got in the way. 

However, from its 2021 revenue low of $1.37 billion, its grown top-line sales by 96% to $2.69 billion in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2025. Over the same period, it went from an operating loss of $93 million to an operating profit of $30.4 million. 

The big problem for KinderCare was its Q4 2024 report, its first as a public company. The company lost $92.8 million on a GAAP basis because of $123 million in stock-based compensation. Investors weren’t prepared for such a high number. 

But really, the shares have been gradually declining from $17.68, the closing price the day before the bad news was announced, to slightly above $3 today. 

The reality is that the business doesn’t have a high return on capital. Since the beginning of 2020, the highest its ROC has been was 2.1% in 2023. With annual capital expenditures averaging $130,000, it’s not an asset-light business model.

Why take a chance?

In December, the company announced the return of Tom Wyatt as CEO. Wyatt led the company for 12 years, from 2012 to June 2024. He owns 4.4 million shares of KinderCare, making him the company’s fourth-largest shareholder. 

Partners wants to extricate itself from its nine-year investment. Wyatt could be the change it needs to get the share price out of penny-stock status.    

#3. Apartment Investment and Management Co. (AIV)

Apartment Investment and Management Co. (AIV) hit a new 52-week low of $4.21 yesterday. It was the 19th in the past 12 months. Its share price is down 29% in 2026. 

This last one is the largest of the three by market cap. It will also have the shortest shelf life as a public company. 

In November 2025, the owner of multi-family residential properties announced that it would proceed with a plan to transition from a REIT to the complete liquidation of its assets and the termination of the business. Its decision followed a strategic review of its business.   

As the company said in early January, it expects the liquidation sale to generate between $5.75 and $7.10 per share for shareholders.  

On March 13, it will make its initial liquidation distribution of $1.45 per share. That’s from the $520 million sale of properties in December. It has agreements to sell $680 million worth of properties in Chicago, Nashville, New York City, and Aurora, Colorado. That will result in a distribution of between $0.85 and $0.95 per share. That should happen by the end of June. 

So, assuming the company’s liquidation distributions are at the high end of projections, it still has $4.75 in distributions to pay out. 

If you buy now at the current price of $4.24 a share, you could receive as much as $5.70 a share [$4.75 plus the high end of $0.95 distribution] once completed, a return of 34%. If it makes all the distributions by the end of the year, that’s an annualized return of 43%. 

Perhaps more dependent on the sale prices. If the liquidation takes longer, your return shrinks by the day.    

Do you feel lucky?

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