The doom and gloom about the stock market that has been predicted since the pandemic started has abated somewhat with the resilience shown by investors (helped by low-interest rates and stimulation packages). So what are the latest stocks driving the interest of the investors?
It is the meme stock mania that is driving the short-term market. They are so named because of the social media push that these stocks got, which started with the Reddit subgroup getting together to save GameStop (the video gaming retail company) from going under. It spread to cinema operator AMC Entertainment and is once again gaining momentum with Clover Health and Wendy’s.
Chamath Palihapitiya-backed Clover Health surged over 100 percent in June backed by social media rumblings.
Shares worth more than $14 billion of the Medicare-backed insurance seller were traded, which is more than the company’s overall stock market value of about $9 billion. Again, similar to what happened with GameStop, forums like WallStreetBets were abuzz with words “short” and “squeeze” while discussing the company, says investor research firm hepcat data.
Another stock that attracted the social media mavens was the American international fast food restaurant chain Wendy, which rallied nearly 26 percent on June 8. A post on Reddit thread WallStreetBets explained why it is “literally the perfect stock.” Mad Money’s Jim Cramer also tweeted the share price “deserves to be higher.”
The rally in meme stocks is primarily driven by retail investors, who themselves are following a social media frenzy. Their collective strength has managed to usurp many large investment companies running Wall Street.
Meme stocks are not picked on the basis of their fundamentals or future potential but are strugglers and stragglers who are barely managing to keep their head above the proverbial water.
Amid the scores of meme stocks that have recently gained traction, some decent companies and short term viral movements should not scare off people from investing in these companies that attract retail investors’ interests.
“For example Hertz, which was supposed to be a retail investor graveyard, actually exited bankruptcy with its equity value intact. The same exact thing happened with U-Haul about 20 years ago, by the way,” DataTrek’s Nicholas Colas wrote in a note this week.
Stock of Hertz fell from $6 to $1 and was eventually delisted from NYSE, but it reemerged from bankruptcy after an auction, rewarding shareholders who stayed.
Among these barrage of wild shots, there might be some winners. Here we bring you three meme stocks to look out for beyond GameSpot and AMC.
BlackBerry
BlackBerry, a Canadian company that specialises in enterprise and security software services and maker of mobile phone brand BlackBerry, was trading for around $9 before the meme stocks boom, when its share price more than tripled to a 52-week high of $28.77. Shares of BlackBerry climbed by almost 55% in May.
The company has announced a partnership with the University of Waterloo to drive research, development and innovation in Canada, which could mean the company is ready to move forward with some new projects in the coming years. A stock worth watching.
Bed Bath & Beyond
Bed Bath & Beyond stock has been on a downward spiral for a long time, and the company closed over 20% of its stores across the US in 2020. But the new social mania interest has driven the home furnishings retailer up about 60% in June 2021 compared with the previous month.
CEO Mark Tritton is cautious of the sudden rise and does not believe that stock market activity will affect the company’s operations. It is a stock worth investing in for both short-term and long-term investors.
Nokia
Nokia has attracted social investor interest due to its involvement in 5G technology. The Covid-19 pandemic slowed down the rollout of 5G globally, leading to a large number of hedge funds and institutional traders shorting Nokia stock. January of this year saw an interest in the stock and a short squeeze pushed the price up by 106%. The prices settled down, but the stock is still attracting steady interest.
Nokia currently has the largest market capitalization compared to the other two stocks listed here and a global presence in over 130 countries. Therefore, it is certainly something more than a meme stock and deserves investors’ interest.
