Traders Squeeze Some Meme-Stock Juice Out of the Week's Final Session

ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images Some retail-investor money has been shifting toward crypto stocks and related investments, VandaTrack research said earlier this week

Why not end the week with some meme-stock action?

That seems to be what's going on, at least in part, with shares of Opendoor (OPEN), which were recently up some 11%. The company earlier today said its CEO and chair would step down, to be replaced on an interim basis by its chief technology and product officer, while it finishes a search for a replacement a press release said was "well underway."

The news helped lift shares of the online home-buying company to levels that, at intraday highs, were the highest since July 22, though below their recent high just under $5 apiece. Enthusiasm for the stock driven by meme-stock traders—encouraged by a highly bullish money manager—has helped drive action in the stock, as has a general willingness among traders to dip into riskier corners of the market.

Some other meme stocks were comparably quiet today. Traditional meme names GameStop (GME) and AMC Entertainment (AMC) weren't doing much in recent trading; a few others, among them GoPro (GPRO) and Kohl's (KSS), were moving a bit more, though the latter was falling. Some retail-investor money has been shifting toward crypto stocks and related investments, VandaTrack research said earlier this week.

If you're looking for a reason retail investors keep leaning in with stocks at highs—it might be simply because what they're doing seems to be working for now. A recent Investopedia survey showed investor sentiment remains high.

The third quarter "to date is a classic 'global everything rally,'" DataTrek Research wrote earlier today. "It is anchored by the American Tech sector but spreading through every major stock market index around the world."

One measure of that effect: Retail-investor portfolios recently overtook an ETF that tracks the tech-focused Nasdaq-100 year-to-date for just the second time since 2014, according to VandaTrack; last year was the only time they've done so for a full calendar year.

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