Broader appetite for UK shares remains extremely fragile following last week’s heavy stock market falls. Both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 are up only fractionally in Tuesday business. And it’s possible that more shocking drops could be around the corner.
That said, I’m still on the hunt for some of the best stocks to buy for my Stocks and Shares ISA today. Should I add the following two UK shares to my portfolio?
A top UK turnaround share?
Latest financials from Aston Martin Lagonda (LSE: AML) suggest that the luxury carmaker might be turning the corner after 2020’s disasters. The FTSE 250 firm shifted more than double the number of motors in January to March than it did a year earlier. Provided there are no more Covid-19 lockdowns, the future looks quite bright for Aston Martin and its share price. Research from Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence suggests that the global sports car market will be worth $56.3bn by 2025. Compare that with the $31.6bn it was estimated at in 2019.
That said, I’m not tempted by the Aston Martin share price in the hope that more coronavirus disruption doesn’t occur. Infection numbers are steadily falling but the battle against the pandemic is far from won. This is a massive concern for the carmaker that still has more than £700m of net debt on its books. That being said, I like the immense brand power of the British marque (it sits joint-second on a list of the UK’s most popular car brands, according to YouGov). And I’m encouraged by its move into the rapidly-growing SUV space as well. I might revisit the carmarker later down the line but for the time being I’ll sit on the sidelines.
A better ISA buy
I’m sorely tempted to invest in penny stock Gaming Realms (LSE: GMR) today, though. This UK tech share makes casino and arcade games and then licences them out to gambling companies (its most famous games franchise is the highly-popular Slingo, a format that combines elements of bingo and slots). It therefore has a robust position in a genre that’s booming in popularity. According to Statista, casino gaming was the fastest-growing genre among mobile phone users in the US in the first half of 2020. Downloads of these games rocketed 39.1% year-on-year in the period.
I think that Gaming Realms is packed with promise. But it’s worth remembering that penny stocks (this UK share trades around 39p) can be prone to extreme price volatility. Even a small number of sale orders can cause a share price to fall off a cliff. Indeed, this particular share has fallen almost 20% in value over the past month alone. Aside from company-specific factors, there are several significant macroeconomic factors (we’re talking about the fight against Covid-19 and signs of soaring inflation here) that could prompt fresh waves of share price weakness in the short term and beyond.