UK investors are heavily focused on Lloyds and Rolls-Royce shares right now and it’s easy to see why. This year, the former’s up about 40% while the latter’s climbed around 70%. Yet there’s a little-known penny stock that’s smashing both of these FTSE 100 shares in 2025. Year to date, it’s rewarded investors with a triple-digit return and yet still only costs 9p.
Huge gains in 2025
The stock I’m talking about is Agronomics (LSE: ANIC). It’s an investment company that’s focused on opportunities in cellular agriculture (a type of biotechnology that produces animal-based products such as beef and chicken directly from animal cells, without slaughtering animals).
In 2025, this stock’s risen from 4p to 9p – a gain of about 135%. That return puts it ahead of just about every Footsie stock.
Can it keep rising?
Could there be further gains to come here? Potentially. I reckon we’re going to hear a lot more about cellular agriculture in the years ahead. Because, ultimately, it has the potential to help the world address quite a few challenges including food shortages and climate change.
According to Straits Research, the market for cellular agriculture is set to grow by around 16% a year between now and 2033. Its analysts believe that by 2033, the market could be worth over $800bn (Agronomics has a market-cap of just £90m today).
The beauty of Agronomics is that it provides investors with exposure to many different companies in the space. So it’s not just a bet on one single company or technology.
Through this company, investors get access to over 20 different companies in the industry. Some examples include SuperMeat, which creates chicken directly from cells, and LiveKindly, which makes plant-based meat.
It’s worth noting that at the end of 2024, Agronomics’ net asset value (NAV) per share was 14.93p. So at the current share price of 9p, the company appears to be trading at a discount to its true value.
A high-risk, high-reward play
Now, while Agronomics appears to have a lot going for it from an investment perspective, I need to stress that the stock’s very high up on the risk spectrum. One reason it’s high risk is that the businesses it invests in are start-ups. Many are still raising money (they’re not profitable) and may not be successful in the long run.
Another reason is that there’s no guarantee cellular agriculture will take off. It definitely has a lot of potential but consumers may not embrace non-traditional meat and dairy products.
I should also point out that this stock has historically been very volatile. Like a lot of penny stocks, it can fall 30% in the blink of an eye.
I think it could be worth considering as a high-risk speculative play however. I wouldn’t advise betting the farm on it, but a small position could be worth thinking about given the industry potential.
