Meme stocks whipsaw as AMC share sale ends massive Reddit-fueled rally

• Meme stocks largely retreated Thursday, with AMC, GameStop, and Bed Bath & Beyond all falling.
• Some retail favorites, like Tilray, Clover Health, and Virgin Galactic continued to rally, though.
• AMC dropped as much as 40% after announcing plans to sell nearly 12 million new shares.

A handful meme stocks held onto strong Thursday while others, including AMC Entertainment, GameStop, and Bed Bath & Beyond retreated.

BlackBerry led gains among meme stock Thursday before turning downward along with other well-known names. The stock, which fell as much as 8%, was the top conversation piece among retail-trader favorites on Wall Street Bets with AMC and GameStop behind it, according to data from Quiver Quantitative.

AMC, which nearly doubled in price yesterday, fell as much as 40% after the company announced a 12-million share sale. Trading halted three times for the stock amid the sharp decline.

Other meme stocks that have rallied this week fell with it. Bed Bath & Beyond dropped as much as 27% after its 63% one-day rally Wednesday. And the original meme stock, GameStop, retreated as much as 13%.

Beyond Meat, a new meme stock pushed by Mad Money's Jim Cramer, also fell along with Koss Corp.

But not all of the retail-trader favorites declined.

Canadian cannabis companies Tilray and Sundial both rallied despite the meme-stock losses. Tilray, which recently completed its acquisition of Aphria, jumped as high as 16% Thursday, as Sundial rose 33%, putting both stocks on a two-day rally.

The two companies have benefited from positive sentiment from retail traders after Amazon announced it would back a federal bill to legalize marijuana. They were among the "most discussed" stocks on Wall Street Bets, Quiver Quantitative said.

Some other lesser-known meme stocks rallied alongside Tilray and Sundial, as well. Workhorse, the Ohio-based seller of electric vehicles and aircraft, jumped as much as 54%. Clover Health, the health insurer backed by Chamath Palihapitiya, jumped as much as 13% before paring gains, and space tourism company Virgin Galactic rose as much as 8%.

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