MW Stocks with lots of social-media buzz are crushing it in 2025. Why one strategist thinks the trade has gone too far.

By Joseph Adinolfi

BTIG's Jonathan Krinsky says buzzy social-media stocks are due for a shakeout

In the U.S., buzzy momentum stocks are running circles around the competition.

Since the S&P 500 hit its 52-week low on April 8, the VanEck Social Sentiment ETF BUZZ has risen by about 60%, FactSet data show. The ETF, which tracks an index of larger stocks generating a lot of chatter on social media, was trading at nearly $33 a share on Thursday afternoon. The S&P 500 SPX has rallied by about 26% over the same period, and was trading at around 6,300 on Thursday.

But one Wall Street analyst believes these stocks might be getting over their skis.

"We are seeing more and more signs of short-term froth in the market with the NextGen AI US Sentiment Leader Index (BUZZ) up 45% in the last 16-weeks and now 29% above its 200 DMA, both the strongest since early '21," said Jonathan Krinsky, chief market technician at BTIG, in commentary shared with MarketWatch on Thursday.

These technical signals suggest a shakeout is likely approaching. The catalyst for a short-term pullback remains unclear, Krinsky said, but things could turn rocky as August approaches.

As MarketWatch reported last week, unprofitable "story stocks" have been among this year's big winners, sparking talk about a potential bubble forming in more speculative corners of the market. Activity in risky penny stocks has also surged.

Shares of Opendoor Technologies Inc. $(OPEN.UK)$, which were trading below $1 as recently as Monday, have shot higher by more than 100% amid a surge of attention on social-media. Chatter about the stock on X and Reddit's WallStreetBets has been particularly heavy, drawing comparisons to the meme-stock era of 2021.

A trader at Mizuho Securities USA pointed out in commentary shared with MarketWatch that the Goldman Sachs high retail sentiment index hit a record high on Thursday.

The VanEck ETF's top holdings include Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN), Rocket Lab Corp. (RKLB), Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD) and AST SpaceMobile Inc. $(ASTS)$ Their shares are up 170%, 207%, 208% and 182% since April 8, FactSet data showed.

-Joseph Adinolfi

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July 17, 2025 15:04 ET (19:04 GMT)

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