By Jack Pitcher

Social media buzzed with excitement on Monday as some beaten-down stocks that retail traders have been buying began to soar.

Kohl's, Opendoor Technologies, Krispy Kreme and Rocket Cos. were among the names that posted outsized swings throughout the week. All four companies have been the subject of attention on investing forums and the social-media platform X.

The big moves, untethered from any clear changes in the companies' outlooks, were reminiscent of the pandemic-era meme stock craze, when shares of companies like GameStop and AMC Entertainment went parabolic.

Like the first time around, individuals have been targeting businesses viewed as past-their-prime that have a high percentage of their shares sold short, an indication that Wall Street is betting they will fall.

So-called "short-squeezes," where investing firms buy back shares of companies they've bet against to get out of the losing trade, likely accelerated the gains, analysts said.

By the end of the week, some of the excitement had fizzled, and investors who bought at the peak were sitting on big losses. Opendoor shares were up more than 115% on Monday, but weekly gains had collapsed to about 10% by Friday afternoon.

Read more about the meme stock resurgence here:

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 25, 2025 15:03 ET (19:03 GMT)

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