Hey Snackers,
As Shakespeare (probably) thought: what’s in a name? That which we call a meme stock, by any other name, would sell as sweet. That’s the root of the question Sherwood News’ senior markets correspondent, Matt Phillips, asks in his piece, “Are Palantir and CoreWeave meme stocks?” It’s a good place to start today’s special trader edition of Snacks, which will also return to one to look at what’s happened to the OG meme stock, GameStop. We dive more into that below as we weigh whether we agree with Bloomberg’s definition of what makes a meme stock.Â
US stocks closed lower Wednesday, ending the S&P 500’s three-day win streak as Wall Street sifted through a number of headlines. On the trade front, US-China negotiations resulted in a preliminary agreement to revive last month’s Geneva tariff truce and ease rare-earth export limits. Meanwhile, May inflation came in cooler than expected, with minimal impact so far from recent tariffs. The S&P 500 slipped 0.27%, the Nasdaq shed 0.50%, and the Russell 2000 dropped 0.38%.
What the options market told us about traders’ views on Tesla last week amid the Trump-Musk feud
While the tide has very much turned in Tesla’s favor this week, I think we can still recall there was… a little dustup between President Trump and CEO Elon Musk last week that rocked the latter’s public stock. Tesla rose back above where it was pre-feud in intraday trading Wednesday, but whether you bought that dip or not, looking at last week’s options activity can help reveal market sentiment.
For those new to options, puts profit when the stock falls, while calls profit when the stock rises. According to data from FactSet, Tesla put volumes crossed over 4 million on Thursday, the highest daily volume on record. That’s more than were traded in early 2023, during the pandemic, or any of the company’s major crises.
So, was the options market wrong? Let’s look at the other side: bullish bets on Tesla also rose significantly, with call volumes of more than 3.3 million recorded on June 5 — the fourth-highest recorded daily figure. That’s a significant gap between the two sides, but this wasn’t the most lopsided the options market has been for the company. Indeed, the put/call ratio, a key metric when you’re evaluating sentiment, reached only 1.2; it’s been much higher before, even in the past 18 months, topping 1.6 in March and April of last year.Â
Hylio: New Plant Will Produce Up to 5000 Made in USA Drones Per Year by 2027!Â
Hylio's new production facility is online in the Houston, Texas area — and it’s gearing up to produce up to 5000 agricultural drones per year at full capacity in the next two years.
Most U.S. manufacturers rely heavily on components that are made in China. Texas-based drone manufacturer Hylio is different: it prioritizes using materials from the U.S. and allied countries.
Hylio has strategically strengthened its supply chain over the years by bringing more components in-house or sourcing them from domestic partners. Now that tariffs1 and potential bans threaten foreign-based competitors, Hylio stands to gain ground in the US market.
With more than 1M acres treated, 800+ drones sold, and $30M+ in lifetime revenue2, Hylio is growing fast and is ready to accelerate — learn more about becoming a Hylio shareholder!3
2 Lifetime revenues are for 9 years.
The biggest S&P 500 Index winners and losers since April 4
After eking out another gain in Tuesday’s session, US stocks have now climbed nearly 20% since ending one the worst weeks of the year on April 4, sending the S&P 500 Index within spitting distance of its all-time high close of 6,144 in February.
Powering that rally, literally and figuratively, has been the AI trade, which contains many of the stocks traders considered when “buying the dip” during that time. Those of us who refrained find ourselves looking at the “pain trades” as chip stocks like Broadcom — as well as the “picks and shovels” names enabling the AI capex orgy — are at or near record highs.Â
But which other companies have been the biggest winners and losers in this latest rally?Â
Of the 430 in the green, Microchip has topped the gainers and is up 93%.
Of the 73 in the red, there is a certified biggest loser that’s easy to see in our interactive chart.
Outside of tech, Constellation Energy, which signed a major 20-year deal with Meta to supply it with nuclear power last week, is a top riser with a 70% gain since April 4, while another top stock, NRG Energy, may owe its performance to an accounting trick.Â
The Takeaway
Before we jump to the conclusion that buying the dip is a good idea 430 of 500 times, remember that it’s only in hindsight that we can tell where the bottom was — and the S&P 500 did fall lower on April 7 before starting its slog upward, and still hasn’t hit its record high. One of our friends loves buying what she calls “Charlie Brown stocks,” which zig-zag up and down like the black streak on the front of the “Peanuts” character’s shirt, but she doesn’t look at just stock price charts to decide when and what to buy; there are also company fundamentals, options volume, and general macro trends to consider. After all, the biggest loser dropped on April 4 with the rest and only picked up downward momentum from there.
The Best Thing We Read Today
GameStop’s rebooted its entire business model: 5 charts show how
Since the RoaringKitty-induced mania of January 2021, the company’s actual business model has changed so much as to almost become unrecognizable. GameStop has been on the brink of being a collectibles store as much as it’s a video game giant — and as of its latest earnings, that transition looks complete.
This Texas Dronemaker Is One Step Ahead Of The Tariffs
Most U.S. drone manufacturers rely on components made in China. But Texas-based dronemaker Hylio is different.
Before any talk of tariffs or trade wars, Hylio was strategically strengthening its supply chain by bringing more components in-house or sourcing them from U.S. partners.
Now, Hylio’s ready to really get off the ground. Become a Hylio shareholder today.3
Off The Charts
Based on price-to-sales ratios, what are the most highly valued stocks in the S&P 500?
Yesterday's Big Daily Movers
Victoria’s Secret dipped 5% after the lingerie retailer reported stronger sales but missed earnings-per-share estimates as it works to stabilize its business
Dave & Buster’s jumped 17% after posting mixed Q1 results, with company execs saying traffic is starting to bounce back
Lockheed Martin dove 4% following a report that the US Air Force has reduced its request to Congress for funding for new planes by half
Airlines including American, Delta, and JetBlue took a beating amid lower airfares and spending softness
Snack Fact Of The Day
GM will invest $4 billion into three US plants over the next two years.
What Else We're Snackin'
The most common stocks members of Congress bought and sold during “Liberation Week”: who traded the most, who made money, and who lost money
The CEO of Tempus AI talked with us about the “insanely large” AI healthcare opportunity
Quantum stocks are in a good state as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang declares, “Quantum computing is reaching an inflection point”
Value investing is working again — but not in the US
In the face of tariffs, Texas-based dronemaker Hylio is ready to lead the change — with a new plant that will produce up to 5000 Made In The USA drones per year by 2027. Seize the moment and invest in Hylio’s raise3
Thursday's Events
May Producer Price IndexÂ
Earnings expected from Adobe
1 In April 2025, a 125% "reciprocal tariff" was imposed on China by the US. See article for further details.
3 Please read the offering circular and related risks at https://www.startengine.com/offering/hylio.This is a paid advertisement for Hylio’s Regulation CF Offering. This Reg CF offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investing in private company securities is not suitable for all investors because it is highly speculative and involves a high degree of risk. It should only be considered a long-term investment. You must be prepared to withstand a total loss of your investment. Private company securities are also highly illiquid, and there is no guarantee that a market will develop for such securities.
This was a paid for ad. Sherwood Media has been compensated for this ad by the Hylio Reg CF Campaign hosted on StartEngine.