GME stock and AMC shares continued retreating Thursday as the week's meme stock rally extended its sharp reversal. Despite the downturn, GameStop and AMC Theaters hold steep gains for the week. Meanwhile, trading platform Robinhood is reaping benefits from the spike in retail participation.
J.P. Morgan on Thursday noted that retail participation in GameStop this week hit its highest level since 2021, MarketWatch reported. "Amid the return of 'Roaring Kitty,' retail participation on GME reached 30% this Monday, representing a 3-year high," analyst Kamal Tamboli wrote. "At the single stock level, retail trader enthusiasm returned to meme stocks," noting the major leaps by GME and AMC stock.
Meme stocks soared on Monday and Tuesday after Keith Gill, known online as Roaring Kitty, made his return to social media Sunday night following a three-year hiatus.
The corresponding return of retail investors has been a boon for Robinhood. The mobile broker on Tuesday reached $5 billion in equities trading volume, marking one of its largest days in the past 12 months, CEO Vlad Tenev posted on the social media site X.
HOOD stock jumped more than 14% this week through Wednesday's close as retail investors rushed back to purchase meme stocks.
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GME Stock, AMC Short Interest
Gill/Roaring Kitty claimed fame in 2020 and 2021 as one of the key drivers for the GameStop short squeeze. The former financial broker and analyst was eventually called to testify in front of the House Financial Services Committee in February 2021 regarding a probe on potential market manipulation.
Meanwhile, shorting activity of GME stock and AMC slowed this week.
GME stock on Wednesday had a short volume of 24.64 million shares, FINRA data shows. GameStop saw 32.5 million shares in short-sale volume on Tuesday, slowing from Monday's short-sale volume of 38.64 million shares.
AMC on Wednesday saw daily short-sale volume decelerate to 69.55 million shares from Tuesday's level of 101.16 million. AMC on Monday saw 119.179 million in daily short sale volume.
GameStop and AMC still bear high levels of short interest. GME short interest represents 24% of the total float, according to FactSet data. Float refers to the shares publicly available for trading. Short interest on AMC stock represented 21.1% of the total float as of early Thursday.
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Meme Stock Action
GME stock retreated 30% Thursday, adding to its 18.9% drop from Wednesday. GameStop shares vaulted 58.5% this week through Thursday's close.
AMC shares fell another 15.3% Thursday. The stock tumbled 20% Wednesday. AMC stock soared 59.5% this week, but is down roughly 24.2% so far this year.
Robinhood shares reversed down 3.4% Thursday after adding 2.6% in early trade. HOOD stock is consolidating with a 20.55 buy point. Robinhood spiked 45.4% in 2024 through Wednesday.
BlackBerry and Koss slid 6.2% and 4.6%, respectively, Thursday, extending their Wednesday declines. Virgin Galactic slid 2.8% Thursday following its 16.5% tumble Wednesday.
You can follow Harrison Miller for more stock news and updates on Twitter @IBD_Harrison
