What are Meme stocks, and which one should I buy?
Retail investors have been moving markets, thanks to day trading and commission-free execution of recently popular stocks or meme stocks such as GameStop and AMC entertainment. Meme stocks are back again – for a third straight day, shares in mega-meme stocks soared to massive gains on Wednesday as retail traders piled into what is now another short squeeze on hedge funds and other institutional investors shorting the stock.
In a market, that’s gone quiet, meme stocks provide investors with a daily source of entertainment. But what are meme stocks, and which one should you buy?
What are meme stocks?
With Memorial Day approaching in the US and catalysts nowhere in sight, the overall market has ground to a halt. The S&P 500 has risen just 0.4% in May, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up a touch more than 1%. The Nasdaq is down 1%. What’s more, the indexes have been stuck in place—rising, falling, and ultimately going nowhere. But in a market, that’s gone quiet, meme stocks are back to provide investors with a daily source of entertainment.
If you are an avid follower of stock market news, you’ve probably come across the term meme stock. And if not, here’s a definition: A meme stock is a stock that has gone viral online, drawing the attention of retail investors.
Meme stocks have become increasingly popular as of late. Recently, the term made media headlines as a result of the popular meme stock GameStop (GME) skyrocketing in price in a David vs. Goliath-like narrative. And while these meme stocks might make for an interesting news story, they tend to have more far-reaching implications for the average investor.
A meme stock is a stock that has seen an increase in volume not because of the company’s performance, but rather because of hype on social media and online forums like Reddit. For this reason, these stocks often become overvalued, seeing drastic price increases in just a short amount of time.
Examples of meme stocks include GameStop, AMC, and BlackBerry. While the companies themselves have not performed well in recent years, all three stocks went viral on a popular Reddit forum and saw massive price increases in late January 2021, specifically Jan. 27. BlackBerry’s stock more than tripled, while AMC increased by nearly tenfold. But neither saw the virality of GameStop, which increased by hundreds of dollars in a matter of days.
Should I buy meme stocks?
Sure, most institutional investors may simply see meme stocks as speculative plays. Nevertheless, Reddit investors can band together and pool their collective research findings, coming up with analyses along the way. Because of this, the long-term growth potential of meme stocks would also be taken into consideration. Take telecom company Nokia for example. Last week, the company landed a 5-year 5G expansion deal in Sweden, marking yet another win for Nokia in the region. Given the current state of the stock market today, meme stocks could be in demand now. While rising inflation risks continue to affect mainstream growth stocks, more adventurous investors may be considering hype-fueled meme stocks. With all that said, here are three worth knowing now.
Best Meme Stocks To Buy (Or Sell) Now
GameStop Corporation
GameStop is a leading specialty retailer offering games and entertainment products through its e-commerce properties and thousands of stores. The company is the largest video game retailer in the world and has seen astronomical gains in valuation in 2021. GME stock is up 16.61% during Wednesday morning’s trading session and currently trades at $244.10 as of 11:59 a.m. ET. Shares of GME stock have been up by over 1,000% year-to-date. Since Tuesday, the company’s share price has also been up by over 20%. Investors seem to be responding to news that the company had announced that it is investing in a non-fungible tokens (NFT) platform.
Although the exact scope of the project is still unclear, GameStop’s new web portal features a link to an Ethereum address, indicating that GameStop’s team could use Ethereum as a technology base. Earlier in the month, the company also announced the expansion of its North American fulfillment network through its entry into a lease of a 700,000 square-foot fulfillment center in Pennsylvania. The facility is expected to be ready by the end of the year and will support GameStop’s e-commerce and fulfillment needs across the east coast.
The company has certainly been making huge strides in expanding its already impressive e-commerce platform. Late last month, it announced that it had completed selling 3.5 million shares of common stock and had generated approximately $551 million in gross proceeds. GameStop expects to use the proceeds to continue accelerating its transformation and further strengthen the company’s balance sheet. Given the excitement that has surrounded the company this year so far, will you consider buying GME stock?
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.
AMC is an entertainment company that owns one of the largest movie theater chains in the world. It boasts over 7,000 screens in over 500 theatres in the U.S alone. A company, like GameStop, has also seen huge gains in its valuation in 2021 alone as retail traders band behind the companies. Shares of AMC are up over 18% during Wednesday’s trading session and currently trades at $19.36 as of 12:01 p.m. ET.
In early May, the company reported its first-quarter financials for 2021. The company says that it was operating at 585 domestic theatres with limited seating capacities of between 15% and 60%, representing approximately 99% of its domestic theatres. Given how the vaccination rollout continues to take place across the country, AMC could very well benefit from this tailwind. Furthermore, the company also stated that it had received a vocal, enthusiastic, and avid new shareholder base mostly comprising some 3 million individual stockholders, reaffirming the support the company has.
Adam Aron, CEO of AMC had this to say, “Strengthening AMC’s liquidity position and the balance sheet remains very high priorities, and we have been active across the board. Over the past five months, AMC has raised right around $2 billion in fresh equity and debt capital, including the conversion of $600 million of convertible notes into equity for $13.51 per share.” Seeing how it has gotten enough capital to weather through the last leg of the pandemic, is AMC stock worth buying?
BlackBerry Ltd
Next up, we will be looking at an upcoming name in the software space, BlackBerry. One way or another, most would know the company from its line of smartphones featuring its proprietary keyboard. However, BlackBerry is making massive plays, fully shifting its focus from consumer hardware to software this year. Back in January, the company sold off 90 smartphone tech patents to Huawei. Moreover, the company is currently working with Amazon’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services (AWS) as well. Through its collaboration with AWS, BlackBerry is developing an intelligent vehicle data platform, IVY. With BB stock mostly trading sideways over the past month, could it be a buy right now?
For the most part, BlackBerry appears to be kicking into high gear on the software front. The company recently announced significant upgrades to its cybersecurity offerings. To begin with, BlackBerry released an updated version of its cloud-based endpoint detection and response service, Optics 3.0. With Optics 3.0, the company now boasts real-time threat detection features for organizations operating on the cloud. On top of that, BlackBerry also introduced its first artificial intelligence (AI)- based Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) product, BlackBerry Gateway. This marks the company’s entry into the ZTNA field. If anything, this marks a rather timely and strategic play by BlackBerry, given the current trends in cybersecurity breaches.
Not to mention, the company has also been hard at work expanding its research division. Earlier this month, it announced a five-year, “multi-million-dollar partnership” with the University of Waterloo. The duo will be focusing on driving research-powered innovations in Canada. BlackBerry’s Advanced Technology Development Labs group will be working with the world-renowned research team at the university to do so. With BlackBerry firing on all cylinders, would you consider BB stock a buy right now?