Aura Energy

Price: 10.3p per share
Market cap: £54.2m

Mining business Aura Energy (LSE: AURA) is evolving from a uranium explorer to a producer of the radioactive material. I think it could therefore be a great way for me to make money from rising nuclear energy demand.

This particular energy stock is focussed on developing the 800,000-pound-a-year Tiris uranium project in Mauritania. Fresh drilling work began in May to upgrade resources at the site which Aura hopes will produce first material in 2024. It believes the programme could lead to annual production of 3m and 5m pounds of uranium before 2029.

I think Aura has terrific earnings potential as the world moves towards low-carbon energy sources. Nuclear energy use is tipped to rise steadily as the burning of fossil fuels declines. Nuclear power will also be essential for helping the lights stay on when adverse weather conditions impact renewable energy generation.

This is why the International Atomic Energy Agency thinks nuclear energy capacity could reach 792 gigawatts (GW) by 2050. That’s more than double the 393 GW recorded in 2020.

Remember that Aura still has some way to go before Tiris starts producing. Any setbacks with mine development could derail profits forecasts and prompt Aura to embark on fresh fundraising. Shareholders could be tapped for cash or more debt added to the balance sheet.

Such risks are part-and-parcel of investing in small-cap mining stocks. And it’s my opinion that buying this penny stock today could be a good idea for me before its share price potentially explodes.

Inland Homes

Price: 41.5p per share
Market cap: £97.7m

Rising interest rates pose a threat to Britain’s housebuilders by putting homeowner affordability under even more pressure. But I’m still tempted to invest in penny stock Inland Homes (LSE: INL) right now.

Recent trading updates from across the industry show how resilient demand remains despite recent Bank of England action. On Tuesday, for instance, Bellway said that sales reservations per week were up 5.9% between 1 February and 5 June. Critically the firm said that “ongoing positive price momentum continues to offset build cost inflation” too.

Inland Homes is set to release its own set of financials in the coming days. I’m expecting another set of impressive numbers that could help its share price to rise strongly.

The company’s low valuation certainly gives plenty of room for a share price re-rating. The penny stock trades on a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just 6.7 times. I think Inland Homes could prove an lucrative long-term investment as historically-low interest rates would appear here to stay. In my opinion, homes demand looks set to outpace supply for years to come.