Individual investors made 30% of GameStop trades on Monday

By Gordon Gottsegen

Data from J.P. Morgan show that retail investors were funneling back into shares of GameStop and AMC

It may come as no surprise, but as the stock prices of GameStop and AMC skyrocket, so does the number of people trading those shares.

New data from J.P. Morgan helps add some context to who was trading the videogame retailer (GME) and movie-theater chain (AMC) this week.

Shares of the two meme stocks jumped early this week after X user Keith Gill, who goes by the moniker Roaring Kitty, began tweeting for the first time in three years.

Read more: GameStop in 2024: Another meme-stock bubble or did apes never leave?

GameStop's stock went up from $17.46 at the close on Friday to $48.75 at the close on Tuesday, hitting intraday highs of $64.83 before dipping back down 18.87% on Wednesday. AMC saw similar growth on Monday (up 78.35%) and Tuesday (up 31.98%), then declined on Wednesday (down 20%).

Retail investors went along for the ride. They were actively trading the two stocks, with retail participation in GameStop hitting 30% on Monday, a three-year high.

The percentage of retail investors trading AMC didn't see as much of an increase as GameStop. But according to the data, the percentage of retail participation was higher for AMC on average. Perhaps this points to greater retail interest in AMC, or maybe it points to institutional investors paying more attention to GameStop. Regardless, retail participation didn't reach the same peaks as it did in 2021.

The fervor over these two stocks may have died down for now, with both stocks trading lower on Wednesday and Thursday. Some believe the rally was simply due to hype, while one expert believes we'll see a series of "descending spikes." Depending on what happens next, we could see retail traders ready to jump back in.

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05-16-24 1336ET

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