Meme stocks tumble in 2022 as retail punters lose interest

KOSS

21/12/2022 13:34

** Shares of meme stocks such as AMC  AMC.N  and GameStop
Corp  GME.N  are down nearly 70% and 45%, respectively, so far
this year
    ** Meme stocks are among the worst hit in 2022 amid grim
market conditions and rising regulatory scrutiny, with the
Roundhill Meme ETF  MEME.N  down 62% this year 
    ** GME and AMC hit record highs in early 2021 when retail
investors coordinated on online forums such as Reddit to boost
heavily shorted stocks and hurt bearish hedge funds; shares
surged 1183% and 687.6% last year, respectively     
    ** This year, retail purchases in AMC and GME fell 72% and
83%, respectively, from 2021, according to Vanda Research
    ** Despite a jump in inflows during Q1 and then later in the
summer when retail traders attempted to make up for early losses
by doubling down on these high-beta names, meme stocks saw
retail purchases decidedly fall this year - Vanda Research
    ** Nonetheless, both AMC and GME are above their prices
before 2021's meme stock frenzy
    ** Other meme darlings like Blackberry  BB.N , Bed Bath and
Beyond  BBBY.O  and Koss  KOSS.O  down between 49% and 81% YTD
    ** Retail punters are instead shifting attention to ETFs,
with S&P 500 index-tracking SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust  SPY.P  the
most purchased security this year, adds Vanda 
    ** This year also saw eye-popping rallies in freshly debuted
Chinese fintechs like AMTD Digital  HKD.N  whose market value
briefly surpassed that of Bank of America  BAC.N  before its
sharp drop back to near debut levels
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Meme stocks tumble in 2022    https://tmsnrt.rs/3HTd1I9
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 (Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru)
 ((BansariMayur.Kamdar@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter:
@BansariKamdar;))