Five-Cent Meme Stock Dominates 15% of US Exchange Trading

(Bloomberg) — Shares of tiny Healthcare Triangle Inc. stood out as the most actively-traded name on US exchanges on Thursday, another example of how investor exuberance is fueling wild gyrations throughout the equity market.

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The little-known healthcare information technology company saw its stock price more than double to just above five cents, with over 3 billion shares changing hands. That was equivalent to about 15% of the total shares traded on US exchanges for the day, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

After surging 138% at the open, Healthcare Triangle’s shares closed up 115%, with no apparent news to spark the eye-popping move. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The total value of shares traded for the day stood at approximately $150 million, nearly seven times the company’s market capitalization.

The surge was among the latest manifestations of the meme stock mania that has sparked rallies in speculative names, with Kohl’s Corp., GoProInc. and Krispy Kreme Inc. among the list of companies whose shares have seen big moves. Shares of Opendoor Technologies, which shot higher on Monday, were also notable for massive trading volumes.

While the number of stocks being drawn into the frenzy is growing, the rallies have been volatile and often short lived, raising questions about whether the companies will be able to take advantage of their elevated share prices to raise fresh capital, the way that AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and GameStop Corp. did during the original meme stock craze of 2021.