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Agronomics (LSE: ANIC) is a penny stock on the move — it’s up 23.3% in just a month. This means that anyone who put five grand into Agronomics shares in mid-June would now be sitting on £6,165.
But had an investor bagged this one at just under 4p at the start of 2025, they would have done even better. Year to date, the stock has rocketed 138% to 9p!
Science fact
For those wondering, Agronomics is the backer of 20+ venture-stage companies aiming to commercialise lab-grown meat. These start-ups are harnessing innovative technologies to produce cell-cultivated meat, milk, eggs, and more.
In other words, products that remove the need to farm livestock and slaughter animals. Instead, animal cells are grown in a lab or bioreactor.
While that might sound like something out of Frankenstein, this isn’t science fiction. Indeed, it’s fast becoming science fact.
Take BlueNalu, for example, which is one of Agronomics’ portfolio bets. This is a US-based firm pioneering cell-cultivated seafood. Its first product is bluefin tuna, which is one of the world’s most overfished species.
The company grows the seafood in bioreactors, cell by cell. That means no heads, tails, bones, or microplastics — just pure fillets.
Again, this isn’t just pie-in-the-sky stuff. BlueNalu has expanded a deal with Nomad Foods, the frozen food firm behind Birds Eye and Findus, to support the future commercialisation of its seafood products in the UK and Europe.
According to a survey sponsored by BlueNalu, 92% of 2,000 frequent sushi eaters in the UK expressed interest in trying the product. If BlueNalu achieves regulatory approval and commercial rollout, the value of Agronomics’ investment could soar.
Another firm backed by Agronomics — called Meatly — has cut bioreactor costs by 95%. This moves its cultivated pet food, which was launched in Pets at Home in February, closer to price parity with conventional chicken.
Frankenfood fears
It’s tricky to put a valuation on Agronomics. Most of the companies it holds are still making their way towards commercialisation.
But in March, Agronomics’ net asset value (NAV) was calculated at 14.93p. With the shares now at 9p, this suggests a NAV discount of about 40%. On this basis, the shares are still undervalued, despite doubling this year.
However, it’s important to understand that this is a high-risk stock. Some of these firms could go bust due to a lack of funding or a failure to successfully launch products.
Also, there may well be a backlash against lab-grown meat. The Trump administration could make US regulatory approvals and funding more difficult.
Moreover, the US meat industry and agribusiness groups are obviously going to put up a fight. I expect to see plenty many ‘Frankenfood’ posts and headlines over the next few years.
Adventurous
Still, this technology is potentially revolutionary. As Agronomics argues, “We are on the cusp of the deepest, fastest, most consequential disruption in food and agricultural production since the first domestication of plants and animals 10,000 years ago.”
Given the fact that Agronomics invested in these start-ups at the ground floor level, the returns could be enormous if a couple of them succeed in future. But that’s not guaranteed.
Therefore, this is the very definition of a high-risk, high-reward penny stock. Only the most adventurous investors should consider it.
