I have to admit it. Even though I am an avid stock market watcher, I was a little behind on my understanding of the hoopla around the concept of ‘Meme Stocks’.

A Meme Stock is one that gets highly touted and traded by an individual and/or a band of social media followers. They place so much activity on their trade that they can seriously move the needle on the stock’s value. As you can imagine, fundamental financial analysis may or may not be a part of the stock purchase or sell regimen.

For a meme stock, It’s more all about the ACTION, maybe less about fundamentals.

Early this morning there was an interview in which the guest said she knew that Keith Gill aka ‘Roaring Kitty’ was actually a compliance officer earlier in his career. That perked my ears, now I am listening.

Keith Gill- or Roaring Kitty – is the poster boy for meme stocks. And he was slated to do a Live on YouTube at Noon Eastern today.

I was able to join. Roaring Kitty bared it all. He shared his portfolio position page live on screen. Thought that was pretty transparent! And yes, he cracked a cold brew during the session. Hey, it was noon on a Friday in the summer on the east coast, why not? The chat box went parabolic crazy supportive.

My screen shot of the event:

This is when the full lightbulb went off.

Roaring Kitty confirmed he does not have institutional money behind his trade. Which is impressive considering he bought 5 MILLION shares of GameStop for $21.74. That’s real money.

Remember what I said earlier about how meme stock trades can alter a stock price? Well it altered it for those that shorted the GameShare stock enough that they had to cover their shorts. Institutional investors. The ‘big boys’. Obviously, they do not like to lose to a single individual that drinks beer on camera at noon and wears a headband and other get-ups as he freelances his way through the heavy hitters of Wall Street.

If we think about it though- doesn’t everyone basically talk up their book, their trades, their work? Why should any trader- that is NOT breaking any laws or committing any SEC violations, be called a Meme?

Is being called a Meme here in this case derogatory, or is it a well-intentioned or deserved characterization?

Was today a zeitgeist moment for stock trading? Will it embolden more to take such outsized risk? My hope is that it will inspire others to learn more about stocks, how to interact with the markets, become more exposed to how investing works- and do well with it.

What do you think of the Meme Stock activity and the players?

Dangerous or Inspiring?