Retail Investors Can't Get Enough of Memory Stocks -- WSJ

Dow Jones
May 14

By Caitlin McCabe

Retail traders are all in on the memory trade.

The group's latest obsession as of late has been the Roundhill Memory ETF, a relatively new exchange-traded fund that tracks computer memory and storage stocks. Since it launched six weeks ago, individual investors have poured more than $250 million into the product on a net basis, according to data from Vanda Research, outpacing flows into longtime favorites like Nvidia.

What stands out about the buying is how quickly retail investors have piled into the stock, Vanda said earlier this week.

-- Cumulative net buying of the ETF, which trades under the ticker DRAM, crossed the $200 million mark in just 27 days. That's faster than other thematic ETFs that have been popular among the cohort.

-- It took 29 days for the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF $(IBIT)$ to reach that mark after it launched in 2024, according to Vanda, despite the excitement at the time surrounding the launch of crypto ETFs.

-- The Direxion Daily TSLA Bull 2X Shares $(TSLL)$-which aims to deliver investors two times the daily performance of Tesla stock-took even longer, at 199 days.

Part of the speed may be a function of retail investors' larger presence in the U.S. stock market. But it also speaks to the current frenzy around the AI infrastructure trade.

DRAM's two biggest holdings are SK Hynix and Micron Technology, whose stocks have both doubled since the launch of the ETF on April 2.

This item is part of a Wall Street Journal live coverage event. The full stream can be found by searching P/WSJL (WSJ Live Coverage).

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 14, 2026 07:51 ET (11:51 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

At the request of the copyright holder, you need to log in to view this content

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

Most Discussed

  1. 1
     
     
     
     
  2. 2
     
     
     
     
  3. 3
     
     
     
     
  4. 4
     
     
     
     
  5. 5
     
     
     
     
  6. 6
     
     
     
     
  7. 7
     
     
     
     
  8. 8
     
     
     
     
  9. 9
     
     
     
     
  10. 10