Meme Stocks Return to the Limelight as GME, AMC Shares Rise

Two of the most popular meme stocks, GameStop (NYSE: GME) and AMC (NYSE: AMC), staged a small comeback this week, both seeing sharp gains propelled by the strong speculative enthusiasm of retail traders. GameStop hit an intraday high of $17.56 on Wednesday as individual investors drove net volume to the highest level since early August. 

Meme Stock Kings Return to Retail Investors’ Radar

Once-king of the meme stocks, GameStop saw its shares soar more than 13.3% during the Wednesday trading session amid a resurgence in interest among retail traders for speculative bets. 

The stock opened at $15.49 and jumped to an intraday high of $17.56 but gave away some of its gains to close at $16.23. GameStop, which recently appointed Ryan Cohen as its new CEO, was among the most actively traded ones on the New York Stock Exchange in the past two days. Individual investors bought $1.92 million worth of GME shares on a net basis on Tuesday, the highest since August 6, according to Vanda Research. 

The unexpected increase in demand comes amid strong optimism in the broader market, suggesting that the ongoing rally is overstretched, said Swissquote Bank’s Ipek Ozdareskaya. 

AMC’s recent performance reflected an increased appetite for meme stocks as well. The cinema operator’s shares rallied over 7% on Wednesday, closing at $7.17 apiece. Roughly 32.5 million AMC shares changed hands on the day, marking the highest volume since November 9. The cinema operator has recently sold its shares in equity offerings to boost its balance sheet and cash reserves.

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The 2021 Meme Stock Craze

GameStop and AMC were among the most discussed stocks on Wednesday on the social media site StockTwits.com. 

The two companies were also the focus of the so-called ‘meme stock craze’ at the beginning of 2021. At the time, the market witnessed a surge in unconventional and highly volatile trading activity primarily driven by online communities, such as Reddit’s WallStreetBets. 

Amateur investors, often called retail traders, collaborated to invest in certain stocks, defying conventional market norms collectively. GME emerged as a focal point of this craze, experiencing astronomical price growth alongside stocks like AMC and BlackBerry. 

These stocks lost their unprecedented gains in the following months as there was seemingly no fundamental strength to support such high prices. Things did not change much this year as GME and AMC continue to be extremely speculative stocks driven predominantly by retail traders. 

Do you think any of the meme stocks are actually worth investing in? If so, which ones? Let us know in the comments below.