Meme stocks list: companies riding the retail hype wave

Meme stocks represent a distinct segment of the equity market characterized by extreme volatility and retail investor-driven momentum. They are primarily traded on platforms like NYSE and NASDAQ, gaining notoriety through social media amplification. Despite fundamental disconnects, the meme stock phenomenon, exemplified by short squeeze events, offers traders high-risk/high-reward opportunities detached from traditional valuation metrics.

The meme stock universe is not defined by financial fundamentals; it’s driven by collective retail sentiment and viral attention. The main characteristics of these stocks include:

• Extreme volatility: Frequent intraday swings exceeding 30% on social media catalysts.
• High short interest: Short positions often representing 20-40% of float pre-squeeze events.
• Retail dominance: 60-80% of trading volume originating from individual investors.

The video game retailer GameStop and cinema chain AMC epitomize this category – GameStop surged 2,500% in January 2021 while AMC gained 3,000% within months. Their combined peak market capitalization exceeded $40 billion despite negative pre-squeeze fundamentals. Trading meme stocks involves navigating sentiment-driven markets where technicals outweigh fundamentals.

Several meme stocks became cultural phenomena. Bed Bath & Beyond saw 1,200% gains before bankruptcy, while BlackBerry attracted 500k+ daily mentions on Reddit during its squeeze. This explains why SEC now monitors social media for market manipulation signals. Beyond consumer stocks, the category includes 3 key meme sectors: brick-and-mortar retail (GameStop, AMC), tech hardware (BlackBerry, Nokia), and cryptocurrencies (Coinbase during crypto surges).

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The following table contains a list of historically significant meme stocks by social media activity, primarily traded on U.S. exchanges (including companies with 10M+ daily discussion mentions). The list includes only publicly traded companies, and the presented data (price, short interest) are regularly updated to reflect the current market situation.