## Metadata - Author: [[Seana Smith]] - Full Title: Understanding the 'quasi-religious fervor' behind meme stocks - Category: #articles - Document Tags: [[politics / society]] - Summary: Meme stocks have wiggled their way back into Wall Street conversations as social media companies Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) and Reddit (RDDT) began trading at high valuations despite the companies actively losing money. Public COO Stephen Sikes and Interactive Brokers Chief Strategist Steve Sosnick join Yahoo Finance to discuss the renewed interest in meme stocks, FOMO investing, and what investors need to keep in mind when considering chasing this trend. Sosnick explains his rubric for the hallmarks of a meme stock: "Number one is sort of a quasi-religious fervor. It's one thing to be enthusiastic about a stock. It's another thing to just be so hyped up about it. Think about how the real apes were in AMC (AMC), the real devotees in GameStop (GME) early on. Certainly one could say that about the former president's base, who I think has helped getting DJT stock moving. Second, and sort of part and parcel with this, is disregard for fundamentals. If you're believing in the faith of the stock, if you have... - URL: https://finance.yahoo.com/video/understanding-quasi-religious-fervor-behind-152715750.html ## Full Document Some content could not be imported from the original document. [View content ↗](https://s.yimg.com/rx/ev/builds/1.5.11/pframe.html) Meme stocks have [wiggled their way back into Wall Street conversations](https://finance.yahoo.com/video/meme-stocks-making-return-reddit-200450282.html) as social media companies [Trump Media & Technology Group](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trumps-new-social-media-company-looks-like-a-meme-stock-191257321.html) ([DJT](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DJT?.tsrc=fin-srch)) and Reddit ([RDDT](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/RDDT?.tsrc=fin-srch)) began trading at high valuations despite the companies [actively losing money.](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-has-billions-in-new-paper-wealth-but-accessing-it-quickly-could-get-messy-132532921.html) Public COO Stephen Sikes and Interactive Brokers Chief Strategist Steve Sosnick join Yahoo Finance to discuss the renewed interest in meme stocks, FOMO investing, and what investors need to keep in mind when considering chasing this trend. Sosnick explains his rubric for the hallmarks of a meme stock: "Number one is sort of a quasi-religious fervor. It's one thing to be enthusiastic about a stock. It's another thing to just be so hyped up about it. Think about how the real apes were in AMC ([AMC](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AMC?.tsrc=fin-srch)), the real devotees in GameStop ([GME](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/GME?.tsrc=fin-srch)) early on. Certainly one could say that about the former president's base, who I think has helped getting DJT stock moving. Second, and sort of part and parcel with this, is disregard for fundamentals. If you're believing in the faith of the stock, if you have... a non-analytical view of the stock, then you can disregard the fundamentals." Sikes breaks down one of the reasons behind the increased activity behind these stocks: "Retail investors really love to follow trades that they are familiar with. Companies they know, companies they understand, and you know, familiarity can come from again them being customers that use the products or even learning about it on social media or Reddit like we've seen with this sort of meme stock trade. So, I think that level of familiarity really drives retail investor interest." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click [here](https://finance.yahoo.com/video/stocks-look-end-losing-streak-113048051.html) to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. Editor's note: This article was written by [Nicholas Jacobino](https://www.yahoo.com/author/nicholas-jacobino/) ##### Video Transcript - Well, it's a big week for meme stocks with GameStop shares plummeting after its fourth quarter sales dropped compared with a year ago, the company almost killing the meme momentum which was reignited by the public debut of the platform that started it all, Reddit, shares of that social media platform bouncing back after initially dipping after GameStop's results came out. We're also watching another meme stock contender, shares of Donald Trumps Truth social media company, DJT, surging after its public debut on Tuesday. With new names in the mix, what's next for the meme trade? Joining us now, we've got Steve Sosnick, Interactive Brokers chief strategist. We also have Stephen Sikes, the COO of investing platform Public. Guys, thank you both for being here. I love that we've got the Steve's joining us this morning. Stephen, I'm going to start it off with you. I'm curious. You're a great voice to speak with on this because you're the COO of an investing platform. Talk to me about the biggest takeaway that you've had so far regarding meme stocks in terms of the user behavior on the public platform.