Finding solid penny stock leads is one of the trickiest parts of the small-cap investing game. With thousands of stocks out there, it’s hard to narrow things down to a handful of plays with big-time profit potential. That’s where the Penny Sleuth’s Monday Penny Stock Watchlist comes in…

Every week, we drum up a list of penny stocks that are exhibiting abnormal volume, strong technicals, upcoming news, or another catalyst that suggested they might be making a material move in the coming week.

Last week was no exception – investors who played our GeoGlobal Resources (AMEX: GGR) pick had the chance to make 17.32% in the last give trading days…

And while our Watchlist errs on the safe side of small-caps, using technical analysis to tell us where a stock is headed, we opened the comments up to readers again last week, giving you the chance to offer up more speculative penny stock plays — and win a special edition DVD of I.O.U.S.A. in the process…

Watch your email inbox to see if you’re one of this week’s winners…

Now, let’s cut to the chase and take a look at four penny stocks worth watching in the coming week:

Youbet.com (NASDAQ: UBET) – This online wagering company offers a service for its customers allowing them to securely bet on horse races at more than 150 racetracks worldwide. But are you willing to bet on this stock? Shares have recently broken out right at resistance amid significant positive volume. With the market opening strong this week, shares should continue to climb.

Waste Services (NASDAQ: WSII) – While the company may focus on trash, this stock is anything but. Increased positive trading volume and bullish technicals helped Waste Services make this week’s cut. Consider picking up shares after a dip.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE: ESE) – On the short side of things, scientific product supplier ESCO is currently showing investors a very bearish set of technical patterns right now. After posting dismal quarterly results, traders jumped on a triple top that had been forming for the last couple of months, pushing the stock through its support line (blue above), and prompting even more traders to sell off shares at Friday’s open. At current levels, this stock still has further to fall.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE: WAL) – This $300 million regional banking stock has seen its numbers fall ever since the credit crunch heightened. And now, with profit margins still 38.5% underwater, this stock has attracted trader attention. WAL could easily see another significant drop this week.

Share Your Penny Stock Picks

Once again, we’re going interactive this week…

Just post your recommendation in the comments section of this article between now and the market’s close on Friday, November 20 to share your favorite penny stock play with the rest of the world.

Cheers,
Jonas Elmerraji

November 16, 2009

Monday Penny Stock Watchlist: Bet on This Betting Stock was originally featured in the Penny Sleuth.