As Meme Stock Mania Fizzles, Wall Street Sees ‘Big Reckoning’
- Collective sway on the meme-stock universe is waning
- Retail euphoria drove rally in Gamestop, Zomedica, cult stocks
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The day-trading Reddit crowd turned the first quarter of 2021 into one of the wildest periods of stock market mania in modern history. Books -- plural -- will undoubtedly be dedicated to the topic in years to come.
But after these small-time speculators banded together to drive up dozens of obscure stocks by hundreds or even thousands of percent -- and in the process burned a few hedge-fund barons betting on declines -- the movement appears to be petering out. An index that tracks 37 of the most popular meme stocks -- 37 of the 50 that Robinhood Markets banned clients from trading during the height of the frenzy -- is essentially unchanged over the past two months after soaring nearly 150% in January.