Beyond Meat’s recent craze is a fresh reminder for investors chasing the latest viral stock — riding the meme wave is fun until it’s not. The food company known for its plant-based burgers and sausages posted an impressive 128% gain on Monday and 146% on Tuesday. More notional value traded on Wednesday than Apple and Meta combined, with the stock erasing triple-digit intraday gains to close 1% lower, according to Goldman Sachs. Nevertheless, Wednesday’s seemingly minor losses triggered a wave of selling on Thursday, with shares falling about 20% in morning trading before rebounding. BYND 5D Mountain Beyond Meat Wild volatility over the past five days has highlighted how quickly euphoria can turn to panic in these momentum-fueled trades. JPMorgan said there were signs of retailer enthusiasm waning, leaving meme traders vulnerable to sudden exits. The Wall Street firm said retail investors bought about $4.2 billion in physical stocks this week, well below the year-to-date average of $6.4 billion. They also turned net short in individual stocks, selling about $60 million after buying $1.5 billion the previous week. ETF inflows slowed from $5 billion to $4.2 billion. “There are also new signs that retail investor sentiment may be softening as the market shows early signs of vulnerability,” JPMorgan strategists said in a note Thursday. Risks Beneath the Surface Beyond Meat has been almost single-handedly in the meme conversation this week. The Round Hill Meme Stocks ETF (MEME), which covers 20 meme stocks, is still down 8% this week despite increased trading activity. Of the 20 stocks it owns, only two are green this week: Beyond Meat and rare earths company Antimony, according to FactSet. The meme names “Bloom Energy,” “D-Wave Quantum,” “Okro” and “Critical Metals” all fell by at least 10% this week. MEME 1M Mountain Roundhill Meme ETF, 1 Month Meanwhile, the Goldman Sachs Meme Index fell sharply on Wednesday, oscillating around key support levels, according to BTIG. “This was all a meme…illustrating the power of a name and the risks beneath the surface,” Jonathan Krinsky, chief market technologist at BTIG, said in a note to clients. “We see further downside for this group of stocks.”
