These two penny stocks have rocketed in value in the year to date. I think investors looking to supercharge their returns need to give them serious consideration.
Rolling higher
At 60p per share, the Pebble Group (LSE:PEBB) has risen 31.9% in value so far in 2025. It’s gained interest with UK share investors thanks to reassuringly robust trading numbers in tough conditions.
Pebble owns two very different subsidiaries: Facilisgroup, whose software supports North American promotional product distributors with end-to-end business management tools; and Brand Addition, which designs, sources, and delivers promotional merchandise for global brands.
As you might guess, its operations are highly cyclical. And this has created unwanted turbulence as trade tariffs have hit global growth — at Brand Addition, sales dropped around 4% in the first half.
Pebble’s balance sheet also remains rock solid (no pun intended), with net cash at £6m as of June. Analysts are expecting it to continue strengthening, too, with net cash of £13.1m tipped for 2025, and £15.8m and £16.7m for 2026 and 2027, respectively. This gives the company a buffer against market difficulties and enables ongoing investment for growth.
City brokers expect the penny share’s earnings to drop 25% year on year in 2025. But the small cap is tipped to get moving in the right direction again from next year — rises of 16% and 15% are forecast for 2026 and 2027.
Risks remain given the challenging economic landscape. And following recent price gains, Pebble shares now trade on a hefty forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 20.2 times. A valuation like this leaves the company vulnerable to a price correction if results worsen.
But I still think it’s worth a close look from investors. I believe it’s well placed to capitalise on strong long-term growth in the promotional products market.
Doubled in value
Agronomics‘ (LSE:ANIC) share price rise in 2025 is even more impressive. At 8.2p per share, the company’s share price has rocketed 112.5% in value since 1 January.
This penny stock invests in early-stage companies that create products from plant and animal cells. These include cultivated chicken and seafood manufacturers SuperMeat and BlueNalu, and cultivated cotton producer Galy.
Its focus on cellular agriculture gives Agronomics significant long-term potential. The world’s population is rapidly growing, and challenges like climate change will make it increasingly difficult to produce enough food. This is where innovative scientific solutions to revolutionise food supply comes in.
Investing in young businesses like this is high risk. But Agronomics’ portfolio spans 20 different companies and multiple product categories, thus lessening the risk.
Despite this year’s price rise, at just over 8p, Agronomics shares still likely trades at a large discount to its net asset value (NAV) per share. This was 14.81p as of March, according to latest financials. I think this exceptional value warrants a close look from UK small-cap investors.
