2 penny stocks to buy straight away

I’m looking for the best cheap UK shares to add to my investment portfolio today. Here are two blockbuster penny stocks I’m watching closely.

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Food manufacturer Glanbia (LSE: GLB) will experience both pleasure and pain as consumers become more conscious of their personal wellbeing.

Demand for the penny stock’s dairy products could fall sharply as diets which contain no, or lesser amounts, of animal-derived products grows. But I think sales of its nutritional supplements and ingredients might explode as participation in sports and fitness activities takes off. And this provides plenty for UK share investors like me to get excited about.

Glanbia is the largest producer of whey isolate in the US. It also makes products under the Optimum Nutrition label, the world’s most popular performance nutrition brand. The sports nutrition market is tipped for monster growth (Grand View Research, for example, thinks the market will be worth $34.5bn in 2028, versus $16.7bn today). And it’s focused on global expansion to make the most of this opportunity.

Taking steps for growth

I also like the steps it’s taken to embrace the e-commerce growth boom. A whopping 70%-plus of revenues at its Glanbia Performance Nutrition were generated online last year, up from below a third just five years earlier.

Today, Glanbia changes hands on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 22 times. This isn’t exactly low and could prompt a sharp share price reversal if profits don’t grow as expected. Still, I think its extensive exposure to one of the fastest-growing consumer industries makes it worthy of a premium rating.

A penny stock for the gaming boom

Grabbing a slice of the mobile gaming market is another good idea, in my opinion. This is where Gaming Realms (LSE: GMR) comes in, a tech business which creates and licences casino games for use on mobile phones and tablet PCs. Its most famous product is the line of highly-popular Slingo games.

Gaming Realms is making big strides in North America and this week it announced its provisional iGaming Supplier Licence in Michigan had been upgraded to a full licence. This matches the licences it already has to operate in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The business also has submitted an application to operate in Ontario.

Revenues are soaring!

In other encouraging news Gaming Realms said that content licensed revenues had leapt 35% year-on-year in the third quarter. It added too, that its new licensing and games pipeline “has also grown”.

The business has terrific opportunities for growth across its North American European markets, and I’m impressed by the pace at which its expanded its list of partners over the past year alone (industry heavyweights like 888casino.com, DraftKings and Paddy Power Betfair, for example, all launched Slingo Originals titles in 2020).

Of course gaming is a highly-regulated industry and any legislative changes could have a significant impact on Gaming Realms’ profits. However, as things stand today I think there’s a lot to be encouraged by here. Like Glanbia, I’d happily buy it for my shares portfolio today.

Should you invest, the value of your investment may rise or fall and your capital is at risk. Before investing, your individual circumstances should be assessed. Consider taking independent financial advice.

Royston Wild has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Glanbia. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

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