The recent resurgence of meme stock fervor, sparked by the reemergence of Keith Gill, known online as "Roaring Kitty," on X (formerly Twitter), appears to be short-lived as shares of GameStop, AMC Entertainment, and other popular meme stocks declined on Wednesday morning. The dip in stock prices suggests that investor appetite for these highly volatile companies, whose shares are often driven by social media buzz rather than traditional financial fundamentals, may already be waning.
GameStop, the brick-and-mortar video game retailer that became the face of the meme stock phenomenon in 2021, saw its shares fall by 15% in pre-market trading on Wednesday. Similarly, AMC Entertainment, the movie theatre chain that has been another prominent meme stock, experienced an 11% drop in its share price. Other meme stocks, such as BlackBerry and Virgin Galactic, also witnessed declines of 2% and 8%, respectively.
The sell-off in AMC shares came on the heels of the company's announcement of a debt-for-equity swap, in which AMC will issue 23.3 million shares in exchange for $163.9 million of bonds that mature in 2026. Additionally, the firm completed a $250 million stock sale on Monday, further contributing to the downward pressure on its stock price.
While both GameStop and AMC experienced jaw-dropping rallies and an explosion in trading volumes at the start of the week, the current retail interest appears to be much smaller and shorter-lived compared to the epic mania witnessed three years ago. According to data from Vanda Research, GameStop and AMC saw net retail trader inflows of $15.8 million and $37.5 million, respectively, on Monday. However, these figures pale in comparison to the peak daily inflows of approximately $87.5 million for GameStop and $170 million for AMC observed in late January 2021.
The recent speculative run was reignited on Monday by a rare social media update from Keith Gill, a former marketer for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance who gained a large following on social media platforms after turning his initial $53,000 investment in GameStop into a multi-million dollar stake amid growing hype around the stock in 2021. Gill, also known as DeepF------Value on Reddit, posted a picture on X of a video gamer sitting forward on their chair, a meme used by gamers to indicate they are taking the game seriously.
Gill's post led to a surge in GameStop and AMC shares, which rose over 70% on Monday and continued to extend gains into Tuesday. However, enthusiasm appeared to be fading by the close of the previous session, with both stocks experiencing significant declines in pre-market trading on Wednesday.
Wall Street analysts have consistently warned about the risks associated with investing in highly volatile meme stocks, which typically belong to money-losing companies. Cole Smead, CEO of Smead Capital Management, described the meme stock craze as "frankly stupid," equating it to "gambling" during an appearance on CNBC's "Street Signs Europe."
