Meme traders see red as heavily-shorted stocks grow scarcer and old names fall

But portion the trading was ugly, retail investors took a macro thrill successful signs that ineligible waters are getting choppy for their aged frenemy Robinhood HOOD, -3.34%.

Ur-memes similar GameStop GME, -1.50%, AMC Entertainment AMC, -3.92%, Blackberry BB, -1.94% and Koss KOSS, -4.01% each closed down to proceed a unsmooth play trend, and adjacent caller names similar Clean Energy Fuels Corp CLNE, -5.40% and Canoo GOEV, -3.26% could not payment from what seemed similar early-week momentum of meme-stock traders plunging into renewable and green-energy names.

But 1 sanction did negociate to capitalize connected that still-barely-breathing trend.

Camber Energy CEI, +6.21% closed up 6.2% aft surging much than 30% successful aboriginal trading. Camber, which saw a monolithic spike successful social-media involvement from retail traders connected WallStreetBets, according to information from HypeEquity, besides started the time arsenic 1 of the astir heavy shorted stocks connected the market.

Per a probe enactment from Fintel, “Raw abbreviated involvement successful Camber jumped from 6.1M shares arsenic of August 31 to 24.4M shares connected September 15, a colossal leap of 298%.”

For Camber, the aged alchemy of dense abbreviated involvement and precocious social-media involvement combined to springiness the natural-gas outfit large meme vigor connected Wednesday.

That was not existent for different heavy shorted names, however. Katapult Holdings Inc. KPLT, -4.99% fell 5%, e-commerce play Aterian ATER, -12.40% plummeted 12.4%, and Vinco Ventures BBIG, -3.23% fell 3.2%.

Even newly-listed hipster eyewear sweetheart Warby Parker WRBY, +36.23% failed to summation meme steam, giving up a midday surge to adjacent up conscionable 0.8%.

But not each was acheronian and dreary connected Reddit boards Wednesday, acknowledgment to much imaginable ineligible schadenfreude coming from Robinhood HQ.

In yet different class-action suit filed connected behalf of retail traders related to the zero-commission trading app’s determination to halt trading connected meme stocks connected Jan. 28, astatine the tallness of the chaotic abbreviated squeeze, it was alleged that interior communications astatine Robinhood look to bespeak that the company’s main operating serviceman was unloading his shares successful AMC conscionable days earlier the app restricted trading connected the stock.

According to the filing, Jim Swartwout told colleagues via an interior chat connected Jan. 26 “I sold my AMC today.”

He followed up by informing chap Robinhooders that “FYI – time greeting we are moving GME to 100% – truthful you are aware,” seemingly referring to the borderline costs that Robinhood would beryllium paying to clasp the super-volatile banal connected Jan. 27, 1 afloat time earlier the determination to restrict entree was made.  

On Jan. 28, the institution did restrict trading connected some stocks, and others, aft realizing it could nary longer hazard the borderline costs.

That determination would person perchance protected Swartwout from taking losses connected AMC shares that had surged astir 900% that period but would autumn by 56% successful the pursuing days aft Robinhood chopped disconnected entree connected its platform.

The suit was circulating wide by Wednesday afternoon, prompting a surge of subreddits dedicated to speculation connected Swartwout’s idiosyncratic banal trading and a flurry of tweets casting suspicion connected the purported banal dealings, and utilizing them arsenic yet much imaginable grounds to beryllium that anti-retail chicanery was a precise existent improvement astatine the tallness of January’s squeeze.

Neither Swartwout oregon Robinhood responded for remark connected the lawsuit.