S&P 500: 10 Meme Stocks Are Soaring Again (AMC And GameStop Aren’t On Top)

Here we go again: Meme stocks are taking off. But the big winners are a somewhat different group of stocks this time — and are beating the S&P 500.

Ten stocks in the Roundhill Meme ETF (MEME) — including MicroStrategy (MSTR), Peloton Interactive (PTON) and Coinbase (COIN) — are up 19% or more just this year so far, says an Investor’s Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and MarketSmith. That’s well above the S&P 500’s 5% gain this year.

Such a sudden surge in meme stocks is the most dramatic sign yet of the return of speculation roaring back into markets this year. But it’s not the only one. ARK Innovation (ARKK), Cathie Woods’ ETF owning high-risk growth stocks, is up more than 21% this year, making it the No. 1 actively traded diversified ETFs this year, says Morningstar Direct.

“2023 started with a rush of data and macro themes driving ‘risk on’ price action,” says a report by Bank Of America analyst Paul Ciana.

Meme Stock Mania: 2023 Style

It’s not just a few lucky meme stocks that are soaring this year.

The Roundhill Meme ETF, which contains 25 stocks widely driven by buzz from social media, is up nearly 20% this year. And of the 25 stocks, 20 are higher — and some by quite a bit. The average stock in the meme ETF that’s up this year has gained nearly 20%. It’s important to note, though, that these same meme stocks plunged an average of 30% last year. And the Roundhill Meme ETF itself dropped by 64% last year.

The meme universe is changing, too. Of the stocks in the ETF, 14 are expected to make money this year. Additionally, a number of the new generation of meme stocks are grown up enough to be in the S&P 500, including Moderna (MRNA), Occidental Petroleum (OXY) and Enphase Energy (ENPH). It’s important to note, though, that Enphase is down this year by 13%.

But that’s not where the big gains are.