Meme Stocks Are Back. Are You Ready for Round 2?

🍩 Meme Stock Mania 2.0: What’s Actually Happening?

Yes, it's real. No, you're not dreaming.

This week, your social feed probably lit up with ticker symbols you haven’t thought about in years:

• Krispy Kreme (DNUT): +45% this week

• GoPro (GPRO): +80% month-to-date

• Opendoor (OPEN) and Kohl’s (KSS): Also caught the wave — briefly

The driver? You guessed it — r/WallStreetBets, Fintwit, and the return of a familiar playbook: short interest + social media + retail euphoria = chaos.

But here’s the twist: Unlike 2021, the current wave of meme mania isn’t just blind hype. There’s a noticeable savviness to how trades are being executed.

• Short interest is being monitored in real time.

• Technical breakouts are timed.

• Options flows are watched closely.

• Insider activity is being tracked. More on that later.

Why Meme Stocks Still Work (and When They Don’t)

You might ask: “Didn’t we learn our lesson with GameStop?”

Not exactly. Let’s break this down:

1. Retail investors are much more informed than they were in 2021. Tools like WhaleStream, Unusual Whales, and yes, even Surmount, have armed individuals with better data.

2. Institutional shorts are still slow to react. Most hedge funds were not positioned for Krispy Kreme or GoPro to moon. Short interest was 14% and 8% respectively — not outlandish, but still exposed.

3. Market structure helps. Low float + high short interest + call options flow = gamma squeezes. It’s not just Reddit magic — it’s math.

4. Macro tailwinds are supportive. The S&P 500 is sitting at ~6,302 and the Nasdaq is holding steady. Economic data is soft-landing-ish. Retail has room to speculate.

But Wait — The Risk Is Real

Don’t get it twisted: this is not a free lunch.

Krispy Kreme and GoPro have fundamental issues:

• Declining revenues

• Halted dividends

• Minimal innovation

And just like 2021, a lot of these surges are short-lived. By Wednesday, Kohl’s dropped 14%, and Opendoor was down 13%. The music stops fast.

So how do smart traders approach this?
Here’s where signal matters more than hype.

Strategy Spotlight: Magnificent 7 Insider Trading Follower

No, this isn’t a get-rich-quick algo.
This is behavioral finance meets big tech.

This Surmount strategy tracks insider buys/sells across the “Magnificent 7”:

• Apple

• Amazon

• Alphabet

• Meta

• Microsoft

• Nvidia

• Tesla

Why it’s relevant right now: When retail sentiment goes haywire, insiders are often the first to show if it’s real or hype. And that’s your signal.

A massive insider purchase? That’s skin in the game.
A flurry of executive sales? Maybe step back.

The strategy automatically allocates capital based on insider activity reported in SEC filings. You’re not just reacting to news — you're acting on data only execs have.

It’s like riding the meme wave... with a seatbelt.

👉 Want to see real-time allocations and performance?

📊 This Week’s Market Snapshot

Despite meme chaos, the broader market is stable. Here’s where things stand:

🔭 Forward View: Week of July 28

Key Earnings to Watch

• Netflix (NFLX) – July 29
  Focus: password crackdown, margins

• Goldman Sachs (GS) – July 30
  Focus: IPO appetite, fixed-income trading

• Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) – July 31
  Focus: AI chip capacity & global demand

Key Macroeconomic Events

• Thu, July 31:

  • Durable Goods Orders

  • Initial Jobless Claims

  • New Home Sales

• Fri, August 1:

  • University of Michigan Inflation Expectations

  • PCE Price Index (watch for intraday volatility)

Fed Watch

Chair Powell is scheduled to speak midweek.
Fed Fund Futures now show ~45% odds of a rate cut by November (down from 63% earlier this month).

⚡️ In the Background: AI + Energy = Policy Firestorm

President Trump is reportedly unveiling his AI Action Plan this week — and it’s a fossil-fuel-forward approach.

The plan includes:

• Streamlining permits for power plants and data centers

• Using the Defense Production Act to boost natural gas turbines

• Leasing federal lands for AI infrastructure

• A bold target: 50 gigawatts for AI data centers (that’s 25 Hoover Dams worth of power)

Green groups are sounding the alarm — but Wall Street sees opportunity in infrastructure, power grid upgrades, and energy-linked plays.

🧭 How to Trade This Market Smarter

Look — this market is built for active, intelligent investing.

If you’re still sitting on the sidelines or relying on dusty buy-and-hold plans from 2020, you’re leaving alpha on the table.

This is your environment if:

• You want exposure to AI, momentum, or energy themes

• You're watching insiders, not influencers

• You prefer automated strategies that adapt in real time

Surmount exists to bring those tools to real investors — not just hedge funds and PhDs.

Our portfolios run live, plug into your existing brokerage, and adjust as the market shifts — no spreadsheets, no guesswork.