Wendy's Jumps 26% on 200 Million Shares as Reddit Traders Mint New Meme Stock
Updated
Updated · Business Insider · Jun 25
Wendy's Jumps 26% on 200 Million Shares as Reddit Traders Mint New Meme Stock
3 articles · Updated · Business Insider · Jun 25
Summary
Wendy's closed up 26% after surging as much as 42%, with more than 200 million shares traded — 23 times normal volume — and trading briefly halted.
Reddit and Stocktwits buying drove the move, pushing Wendy's to the top of WallStreetBets mentions as retail traders rallied around the chain as a stock to “save.”
More than 50 million shares are sold short, up from about 7 million three years ago, leaving the stock vulnerable to a squeeze as buying accelerated.
The frenzy landed on a weakened company: Wendy's shares are still down 70% over three years, hurt by an inflation-driven consumer pullback and restaurant closures.
A new CFO and chief strategy officer appointment gave traders a fresh hook, even as most Wall Street analysts still rate the stock a hold.