Meme-stock traders again piled into GameStop Corp. and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., a day after shares of both firms soared in a revival of the retail frenzy. 

The video-game retailer’s stock jumped 120 per cent in premarket trading on Tuesday, while that of the beleaguered movie theater chain surged 110 per cent as of 7:31 a.m. New York time. Even with the rapid surges, the stocks remain below the heights they reached during 2021’s meme-stock heyday.

The latest rally was turbocharged on Monday following the return to social media of Keith Gill, who drove the meme-stock mania of 2021 under the moniker “Roaring Kitty.” Gill shot to fame that year by rallying day traders on Reddit in an effort to squeeze GameStop short sellers. 

On Tuesday morning, AMC announced it had completed a previously announced at-the-market offering of shares, raising about $250 million in total as it sold 72.5 million shares for an average price of $3.45. AMC was trading at around the $13 level premarket Tuesday. 

“I think it shaped up pretty good for everybody here,” said Tuttle Capital Management CEO Matthew Tuttle. “They did what they needed to do, and the shareholders didn’t get wiped out.”

Both stocks rallied more than 70% on Monday as option volume surged to the highest level since July 2022.

“GameStop ranked as the second-most traded stock by retail investors for out of the money Call option volumes on Monday,” said Giacomo Pierantoni, head of data at Vanda Research. 

Other major premarket movers on Tuesday included BlackBerry Ltd., SunPower Corp. and Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. Monday’s rally also boosted other high-risk and heavily shorted names like Rivian Automotive Inc., Lucid Group Inc., Nikola Corp. and Vinfast Auto Ltd. 

Traders quickly looked to stocks beyond GameStop and AMC that could move in sympathy, lifting a large swath of names with high short interest in Monday trading. While the surge during the height of the pandemic included a staunch commitment by retail traders to “hodl” — or hold on for dear life — they’re now more experienced, Tuttle said.

“The people trading this stuff now are a lot more seasoned and understand where to get in generally speaking and where to get out,” he said.