Revenge of the Meme Stocks

Bullish:

• $MEME - Increased retail trader activity in meme stocks, particularly in the options market, driven by recent legislative developments and interest in blockchain and AI technologies.

  • “We're seeing broadly volumes pick up, particularly in the options market. And we can trace that back to small traders or retail traders that are increasing activity.”

    John·0:39

  • “It is coincident with the passing of a couple bills in Congress, the tax bill and crypto related bills. And so I think we're seeing some of the names or some of the themes that show up in the meme stock rally be in areas that are exposed there. In particular, a lot of them are crypto or blockchain related.”

    John·2:44

  • “Some of them are AI related, And there are certainly some retail related names, but it's more of these new technologies, new areas that are growth engines for the future.”

    John·3:15
• $SPX - The meme stock activity is seen as a positive sign for the broader market, particularly the S&P 500, as it indicates investors taking risks on stocks leveraged to future growth.

  • “However, it is absolutely a positive sign. You know, I would not read this as a negative sign for the broad market. People taking risks on stocks that are levered to the future and levered to, frankly, broader corporate growth. And I think that that's a positive sign for for the S and P in general.”

    John·8:18
• $RETAIL - Retail investors play a significant role in the market, particularly in options trading and short-dated index options, indicating their growing importance in market dynamics.

  • “Absolutely. I think what the meme stock craze in 2021 told us, it brought to light how big a part of markets retail investors really are. There's 60% of single stock options trading is retail investors. Something like 25% of shares trading. And in short dated index options, they may be 80 or 90% of the customer volume.”

    John·10:57