From GoPro to Krispy Kreme, retail investors are once again piling money into unusual stocks, as they become major topics of conversations on a popular subreddit behind a meme stock craze in 2021. But is the rally set to continue?

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Several stocks, including GoPro, Krispy Kreme, and Opendoor Technologies, have seen significant volatility as they gain popularity on online forums such as Reddit's WallStreetBets. Kohl's, in particular, experienced a dramatic rise and fall in its share price, with analysis indicating that about half of its shares are currently sold short.

This renewed interest in so-called 'meme stocks' mirrors previous episodes, notably the GameStop surge, with retail traders targeting companies with high short interest. The trend is fueled in part by recent gains in both the stock and cryptocurrency markets, though analysts caution that such rallies may not be supported by company fundamentals and could result in significant losses for some investors.

The return of the meme stocks: Names gaining traction in early trade

We're tracking pre-market moves in shares of GoPro, Krispy Kreme, and other names, topping Reddit's WallStreetBets front page after Kohl's stock posted its best one-day performance on record. Shares in the department store more than doubled in early trade on Tuesday, only to lose all those gains within the hour before closing just under 40% higher. Facts that analysis shows around half of Kohl's shares are currently being sold short. Now, another winner, Opendoor Technologies, an online real estate startup, which has posted gains of more than 400% this month, is another stock we're tracking. Carolyn, it feels like we are back where we were five years ago with the GameStop saga and meme stocks back in vogue. I have to say, just looking at the names, it is a blast from the past. I feel like we're catapulted back to 2005, 2006, talking about Kohl's, Krispy Kreme, all these stocks that are really nostalgic here. They're not necessarily companies that the market believes are going to take us into the future. Absolutely not. And that is the problem, isn't it? Because what it signals here, I assume, would be a lot of exuberance, irrational exuberance, maybe. Is it rational? I'm not so sure when it comes to these stocks. But this is basically amateur traders sitting behind their desks and very much confusing the world of finance. It may have worked during the pandemic back in 2021. Does it work now? And my question would be, do they have the time? I thought everyone was back at work and everyone had sort of used up their savings from the pandemic. But maybe, you know, the recent stock market gains are fueling these traders or maybe they're crypto gains. I was going to say, but not just the stock market, but crypto gains. I mean, a lot of these holders are going to be cross-holding crypto, which has been extraordinary over the last couple of weeks on the back of the legislation passed in Washington. And that's being channeled into this, potentially? Potentially. I mean, I think when you look at the parallels between what's happening now and what happened back five years ago around GameStop, they are targeting stocks that have high short interest. We're talking, you know, 20, 25 percent short interest in some cases. In Kohl's case, at 50 percent shares, outstanding, sold short at one stage. Stocks that have been terrible performers over the last few years. And where they're all coming together and the power of these forums is on full display yet again. And you can see how powerful it is to get the collective together here, that you can drive massive swings in these stocks. But clearly, there is a danger here. If the fundamentals aren't supporting these massive rallies, it can all come crashing down quite quickly. And there are casualties along the way. I mean, last time, wasn't it Melvin Capital that actually folded because of that run up in the meme stocks? And we'll see what the casualty is this time. Not necessarily so, but I'm just saying, does this signal the top in the market if there's so much exuberance that everyone's piling into crypto, everyone's piling into this again? I think it's a fair question.

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