Meme Traders Fuel 2,650% Spike in Battered Holographic-Tech Company

Feb 8, 2024
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(Bloomberg) — A battered Chinese company that’s developing holographic technology captured the attention of the meme stock crowd. The prize: a 2,650% jump.

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MicroCloud Hologram Inc. soared as high as $41.53 Thursday from a $1.50 record low earlier this week, with more than $1.7 billion in shares traded as posts about the stock pop up across platforms like Reddit’s WallStreetBets and StockTwits. Even with the eye-popping move, shares remained 67% lower than a January 2023 high with a trading history that resembles the odds at a horse-track.

The shares spiked as much as 131% on Thursday, before trimming gains to 23% at 10:21 a.m. in New York. The choppy trading triggered at least six halts for volatility.

The Beijing-based firm went public through a blank-check merger that valued it at $450 million, after a wild debut it erased about 80% of its market capitalization in just a week. After completing a 1-for-10 reverse stock split on Friday, the shares again traded above the $1 mark in an effort to stay listed on Nasdaq.

One thing that stands out about the stock’s frantic week of trading, compared with one-off spikes in other retail trader targets, is that listed options don’t trade on the underlying stock. That means the meme crowd isn’t flipping short-dated call options — a tactic that needs the stock to surge to be in the money.

While the fortunes being minted day-trading the stock stand out in a market that has long passed the peak meme-stock mania, MicoCloud is still worth just $113 million, making it difficult for many Wall Street professionals to trade it in their portfolios.

–With assistance from Carly Wanna.

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