STRONG HANDS KEEP HOLDING

BY KELIYAH WILLIAMS

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNSPLASH.COM

Reddit users banded together in January to show Wall Street the meaning of true strength in numbers. With large groups of traders now pumping money into the market, they were able to shift the power dynamic and expose how the market can be vulnerable, volatile and weak.

GameStop is a retailer that sells video games, gaming merchandise and consumer electronics. It was the first stock to be preyed on by social media users. It started with just one observant user on Reddit’s r/wallstreetbets, which is a subreddit for Wall Street Bros to discuss stock and option trading. It was temporarily made private on Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. EST/4 p.m. PST for about an hour because of the influx of new Redditors joining, but has since returned to the platform. One user on the forum pointed out a stock pattern and encouraged members to quickly invest in GameStop; users began to notice more patterns in other stocks like AMC, Nokia, Blackberry, etc.

Regular everyday people were now striking GOLD through what are now coined as meme stocks. Each one investing with a different reason; some for personal gain and some for a chance to stick it to

“the man.” No matter their reason, they all were making history.

At its height, on Jan. 27, 2021, 24 billion shares were traded! In just two weeks GameStop shares had increased more than 1000%.

Through all this excitement, some companies like Robinhood tried to (what many people feel) hinder the public’s success by halting the sale of GameStop on their app and adding new securities to their site.

Nonetheless, GameStop and other meme stocks beat all the odds and have continued to be successful despite many who predicted their downfall.

As of June 2021, GameStop’s share price is $260. Now, AMC has taken the lead in meme stocks and it continues to climb. With most states opening back up this summer, stocks are projected to skyrocket.

Still, many are torn on whether they can expect GameStop and other stocks to hit new highs. Some investors are thinking of betting against meme stocks.

“It is extremely tempting to short these stocks, but unless you have huge liquid resources, please try to resist the temptation,” Thomas Peterffy, the founder and chair of Interactive Brokers, said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “These prices can go to unimaginable highs before they settle down to a reasonable valuation, and you may have to cover on the high point.”

It does not matter whether you believe meme stocks will tank or rise. It’s incredible that amateur investors have been able to shift the market for so long. People are still holding onto their shares.

GameStop’s long term success has shown the whole nation what it looks like when its people band together and fight back against a system that was not originally created for everyone to win.

This is the people’s moment to stick it to the Wall Street Bros or maybe just their ticket to comfort. Either way, this movement has become a way for people to dream. To dream of a nice car or nice house that they are gaining for the first time or trying to recover from lack of COVID relief funds or when the market crashed years ago.

This is the chance to dream of a world where everyone has some form of income, and they don’t have to hold onto a share to prove they deserve to have money to be a one-percenter.

No matter what people are holding for, they are holding and it is making a statement. Meme stocks are still as prominent as ever. Five months in, and the stocks continue to rise. Strong hands, keep on holding! ∫ 2021 SPRING-SUMMER

2021 SPRING-SUMMER