Investing

Midday Meme Stock Report for 8/12: Clover Health, Microvast, Palantir, Robinhood

Paul Ausick

Published: August 12, 2021 1:25 pm

One of the main characteristics of a meme stock is how much it gets talked about, particularly on the WallStreetBets subreddit. By that measure, the two stocks getting the most discussion over the past 24 hours, according to data from Quiver Quantitative, are two companies that have just reported June-quarter earnings.

Another characteristic of meme stocks is heavy trading activity, and by that measure, these same two stocks were among the three getting the most trade orders from Fidelity customers.

Clover Health Investments Corp. (NASDAQ: CLOV) reported earnings after markets closed Wednesday. Revenue jumped by 140% year over year to $412.5 million, more than double the consensus estimate. The adjusted net EBITDA loss for the quarter totaled $138.7 million or about $0.34 per share, also more than double the analysts’ estimate. Total “lives” under management rose by 129,000 (126.3%) year over year, and the company’s CEO said, “Clover is on a $1.6 billion annual revenue run rate based on the second quarter results.” This is currently the most talked-about stock on WallStreetBets and Fidelity’s third-highest order driver (50% Buys, 50% Sells).

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) reported quarterly results before markets opened Thursday, beating the earnings per share estimate by a penny (33%) and the revenue estimate by 4% with a haul of $375.6 million. New guidance of $385.13 million for third-quarter revenue was higher than the estimate of $380.13 million, and the company raised its full-year outlook for adjusted free cash flow from an amount greater than $150 million to more than $300 million. The company also said it expects annual revenue growth of 30% or more for the period between 2021 and 2025. Palantir is the second most-discussed stock on WallStreetBets and Fidelity’s top order generator for the first half of the day (36% Buys, 64% Sells).

EV battery maker Microvast Inc. (NASDAQ: MVST) has been the most discussed stock on WallStreetBets over the past seven days. That has translated into a peak closing price for the seven days on Monday, a gain the shares haven’t been able to hold. By meme stock standards, Microvast’s daily trading volume is quite low, and short sellers don’t hold enough shares to drive volatility.

Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOD) continues to bounce lower after a burst of buying drove the stock higher following a lackluster IPO. One of the company’s biggest investors has been Cathie Wood and her ARK Invest ETFs. Three funds own a combined total of about 6.48 million shares. ARK believes that the company has a long-term opportunity, particularly because of its move into cryptocurrency trading.

One final note: Meta Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ: MMAT), a widely followed and traded meme stock is scheduled to announce quarterly results after the markets clos. Here’s our preview.

Clover Health stock traded up 10.2% to $8.98 in the noon hour Thursday. The stock’s 52-week range is $6.31 to $28.85. The average daily volume is about 54 million shares and more than twice that number had already been traded on the day.

Palantir traded up 11.7%, at $24.97 in a 52-week range of $8.90 to $45.00. The average daily trading volume is nearly 44 million, and more than three times that number had traded as the noon hour ended Thursday.

Microvast traded at $10.70, down almost 10%, in a 52-week range of $7.83 to $25.20. The average daily trading volume is around 2.2 million shares, and nearly 2.9 million had traded.

Robinhood stock traded at $48.42, down about 5.4%, in a post-IPO range of $33.25 to $85.00 Average daily trading volume on the stock is about 64.5 million shares, and just 9.3 million had changed hands thus far.