- GameStop stock fell nearly 14% on Monday to $136.88.
- Retail and meme stocks suffered quite sharp falls on Monday.
- AMC followed GME by falling to $23.24 for a 15% loss.
The rise of the meme stock has been a unique feature of this investing year over any others with a special set of once-in-a-generation circumstances elevating many ordinary joes into stock trading stars. The first was GameStop (GME), which made possibly more headlines than any other stock in history. I confess to not doing a lot of research on this, but when you overhear numerous discussions in the local pub about the phenomenon, you know it must be serious.
AMC then joined the party, and together the pair became the poster child stocks for the meme stock revolution. We even had the perfect pantomime villain in the Robinhood saga. Regardless, the retail investor is now a powerful force in the stock market, but that power has begun to wane as we approach the final finishing straight of the year. Now retail investors who got in early and held their nerve are being rewarded with yearly gains of 626% for GameStop (GME) and 996% for AMC. So any discussion of a collapse needs to be put into context. The fact does remain though that both stocks are actually well off their 2021 peaks.
GameStop shed nearly 14% on Monday, closing at $136.88. There is a slight contradiction to the underlying trend with in-store attendance surely surging, definitely in my local store ahead of the holidays.
GameStop (GME) chart, 15 minute
GameStop (GME) stock news
There was no underlying fundamental news. Rather a catalyst of market weakness and general risk aversion hurt this one. GME and AMC are both momentum names, and when that slows the results can be shocking.
GameStop (GME) stock forecast
The big catalyst was more technical in our view. In the absence of fundamental news flow, GameStop has been going through support levels like a knife through butter. $167 was a big level, marking the lows going back to September. Cracking below that level was the direct result of breaking the 200-day moving average.
Monday saw a move to break $146, marking new six-month lows. GameStop now sits on the last key support before $118. GME shares closed at $136.88, though the volume-weighted average price for the year is $138. Below, the volume begins to strongly lighten, meaning less price discovery, meaning a likely move to $118. This amounts to a low volume fall. I know most readers do not like to hear bearish arguments, especially in some favourite name like GameStop and AMC, but we can only comment on the price action and trends we see. For now, bears are definitely in control. A break of $167 resistance would change the picture.
GME 1-day chart