GameStop, AMC meme revolution: A year ago when retail investors took stocks on a wild ride

A year ago in January, the US stock market received a shock and an in-your-face introduction to a new crop of meme stocks as the retail community and Reddit traders went to war against shortsellers and hedge funds.

GameStop and AMC stocks rose and then cratered, pushing US trading volume across exchanges to the biggest day of the year on January 27, 2021, as followed by Dow Jones Market Data Group. The volume has not reached that level since then.

Investment app Robinhood, faced with liquidity problems, was forced to suspend some trades while other brokers faced turmoil and chaos.

In the months that followed, the Securities and Exchange Commission was called upon to address market volatility, even the White House weighed in.

FOX Business looked at what we’ve learned since then.

Shift meme favorites

Retailers are shifting when it comes to their favorite and most-held stocks, according to Apex Clearing, which tracks percentage ownership by generation.

For GenZ and Millennials, Tesla, Apple and AMC lead the top three, while GameStop has dropped to 11th and 14th places.

Powerful private investors

Retail investors are a powerful group and are getting more and more powerful. Data shared with FOX Business from some of the largest brokerage firms tells the story.

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AMC CEO jumps into battle

After watching from the sidelines, Adam Aron, CEO of AMC, decided to become more active on Twitter last year, establishing a direct line of communication with retailers through social media. The move was first reported by FOX Business.

(Photo illustration | Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The company also rolled out ‘AMC Investor Connect’ in June, a portal where the company aims to entice private investors with information and promotions. Aaron can often be found pulsing his followers about items like accepting cryptocurrencies or touting upcoming movies.

AMC stocks over the past 12 months

The stock is up about 68% in the past 52 weeks.

Securities & Exchange Commission: GameStop Report

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who took over from January, was tasked with finding out if anything was suspicious when the market went haywire on Jan. 28. Rumors of intentional interference in hedge funds were ruled out in a lengthy GameStop report titled: “Staff report on the conditions of the stock and options market structure in early 2021.”

It is striking that the SEC is still looking for clarity. On Wednesday Gensler released a statement He said: “The events of last January gave us an opportunity to reflect on how we can continue our efforts to make equity markets as fair, orderly and efficient as possible…” but he also urged more feedback. “I look forward to recommendations from the staff detailing their conclusions and areas for further consideration in the GameStop report,” he said.

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