Meme Stocks August Update: Key Takeaways
- The meme stock sector has come surging back during the month of August…
- Find out why retail traders are surging back to Wall Street in style…
- See why some meme stocks are presenting better setups than others…
Buckle up, traders — meme stock mania is back (and better than ever).
If you hadn’t heard, nearly all of r/WallStreetBets’ (WSB) favorite stocks have resumed into rollicking uptrends, printing money for retail traders and once again burning short-sellers.
But which meme stock charts have the potential for actionable setups (and which should you avoid like your in-laws)? Let’s find out…
Table of Contents
Meme Stocks Overview
Here are six meme stocks worth watching closely. (Details below…)
- GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME)
- AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC)
- Support.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRT)
- BlackBerry Ltd. (NYSE: BB)
- Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA)
- Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR)
GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC)
Let’s be honest. When the term “meme stocks” is mentioned, two names immediately come to mind — GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC).
After all, GME started the entire meme stock craze with its insane short squeeze back in January. AMC wasn’t far behind. Both GME and AMC rode their social media clout to all-time highs — $483 and $72.62, respectively — before exploding into dramatic blow-off tops.
Since then, GME bulls have attempted to mount two subsequent squeezes. Once in March, then again in May. Both times, GME hit resistance near the $350 level before losing steam once again.
Meanwhile, AMC had its most violent rally yet in June before going into a period of major selling throughout July.
But this week both stocks have come roaring back. GME is up more than 30% in three sessions, while $AMC is up 25% in the same period.
Should you trade the rally, or avoid the FOMO entirely? Let’s look at both options…
On the one hand, the pattern emerging on the daily charts looks very similar to the beginning of the runs in March and May.
Remember that those rallies took GME to $350 and AMC to $72.62. You could decide that this run has similar strength and trade either stock long. If you do, make sure to be cautious if the chart approaches the previous highs.
On the other hand, GME and AMC are what market experts call “crowded trades” — meaning the amount of retail volatility in the names has drastically changed the makeup of their shareholders. And crowded trades can be VERY dangerous.
As we’ve seen in the past, a small shift in market sentiment could send tens of thousands of individual retail traders into a selling frenzy at the exact same time. If that happens, you don’t want to be holding the stock long.
Yet we’ve also seen the opposite. That same retail volatility could send GME or AMC back to all-time highs in a few days … No one knows for sure.
The choice is yours. But whatever you do — be careful. Trade your plan. And cut any losses QUICKLY.
Support.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRT)
Major rally alert — this new meme stock has QUINTUPLED this week.
Technical support platform Support.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRT) is up more than 400% this week. The move is especially notable because it’s a textbook short squeeze.
On Monday, August 23, SPRT stock started rallying. It ended the day up almost 20%.
On Tuesday, August 24, SPRT stock was up as much as 30% intraday. Meanwhile, traders began discussing the stock’s reported 75% short interest on social media.
Before anyone could blink, the squeeze was on…
Wednesday, August 25 brought SPRT stock another 20% higher.
But Thursday, August 26, was the cathartic high-note — SPRT surged 41% intraday. Then it went up another 50% in after-hours trading.
Today, August 27, SPRT opened off of its highs at $37.50, but the rally doesn’t seem to be over yet…
Since the open, SPRT stock has moved up to $41.70. This puts the stock up 122% intraday at the time of writing.
The momentum is amazing, but no wise trader would recommend going long at these levels. If you agree that GME and AMC are crowded trades, this one should make you shudder in fear.
If you really want to buy SPRT stock, you’d probably be better off waiting for a BIG dip in the chart.
Remember — most of these short squeeze runs happen FAST, causing them to CRASH just as quickly. Trade accordingly.
BlackBerry Ltd. (NYSE: BB)
Another classic meme stock, Blackberry Ltd. (NYSE: BB), has also been making moves this week.
Blackberry is up 13% since Monday. Additionally, the chart is a perfect example of a double bottom pattern.
BlackBerry stock tested the $9.48 level to the cent on two separate days last week — August 17 and August 20.
It’s generally a bullish indicator when stocks test the same level on two separate days without breaching it.
This is because the double-bottom price level often acts as strong support for the share price moving forward.
If this is true (and BB continues to ramp), where should traders set their price targets? We can look to historical price action to get some idea of where BB could be headed…
On its previous two momentum runs, BlackBerry stock touched highs of $28.77 in January and $20.17 in June. Traders should bookmark these levels as potential price targets.
BlackBerry stock is trading for $10.98 at the time of writing. There’s no guarantee that the chart goes anywhere near where it did on past rallies. But if a major move gets going, recent highs show us there could be as much as 100% upside in the near term.
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA)
Electric vehicle giant Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) has regularly topped WallStreetBets’ most mentioned equities list this month.
This is no surprise. WSB absolutely adores Tesla and many of its disciples practically worship at the throne of “Papa Elon” Musk.
It seems obvious why, as in many ways Tesla is the perfect stock for Reddit: A next-generation automotive technology company with a wildly volatile share price helmed by one of the most charismatic and successful celebrity CEOs on the planet … rather, in the galaxy.
Musk also loves memes, hates hedge funds, and has personally endorsed the philosophy behind WSB.
During the month of August, Tesla has held its spot near the top of WSB’s mention lists — but not for the reasons bulls hope for.
Frankly, Tesla has had an incredibly tumultuous month.
On Tuesday, August 17, Tesla learned its AutoPilot technology is the subject of a federal safety probe.
If that wasn’t bad enough … later that same afternoon, a Tesla Model 3 vehicle crashed into a schoolyard in the U.K., injuring six children and an adult.
In a rare turn, Musk responded to the week of ugly news by saying that he believes Tesla’s current Full Self-Driving beta is “actually not great.”
But what about the chart? Is Tesla stock tradeable?
Despite all the negative headlines, Tesla stock is currently up 10% for the month of August.
This relative strength is worth noting. If a month full of bad headlines doesn’t send a chart tanking lower, that can be a bullish indicator.
That being said, it’s probably a better strategy to wait on the sidelines for a definitive break one way or another with Tesla stock.
Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR)
Co-founder Peter Thiel and CEO Alex Karp’s big data analytics company Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) is a major favorite on WallStreetBets.
Palantir stock debuted at $9.12 just six months ago on Sept. 30. For the following three months, shares proceeded to rocket 325% to an all-time high of $45 on Jan. 27.
This interest comes from Palantir’s groundbreaking technology, and was bolstered by comments from management in support of retail traders.
“I like so-called retail investors for lots of reasons,” Karp said during a CNBC appearance in March, adding “I’m very proud that normal people, investing their own money, with their own risk, making their own opinion, made a lot of money.”
The run eventually cooled off and cut Palantir stock by more than half, hitting a near-term low of $17.06 on May 11. Since then, the chart has been steadily building momentum…
Palantir stock is trading for $25.84 at the time of writing — more than 50% off its lows. If the chart keeps moving in the same direction, it’s possible Palantir stock could mount another move towards its previous all-time high.
If you watch for this move, keep your eyes glued to the $27.53 level. The chart backed off at this handle on June 28, creating an area of near-term resistance.
Another failure to break this level would be a bearish indicator. On the other hand, a break above $27.53 on a daily closing basis could lead to a major rally back toward $45.
The Bottom Line on Meme Stocks
There are no guarantees with any of these names. Meme stock price action can flip on a dime.
If you trade any of these charts — take any profits ASAP and cut any losses IMMEDIATELY.
With meme stocks, the momentum is usually strong one way or the other. If the chart you’re trading looks like it’s reversing from the direction you’re betting on — you should run.
But this phenomenon works both ways. Be cautious. Know your history. And NEVER let FOMO get the best of you.