Investing

Meme Stock Movers for 1/4: Meta Materials, Paysafe, Tesla, Upstart

Paul Ausick

Published: January 4, 2022 9:25 am

All three major U.S. stock indexes posted solid gains on Monday, the first trading day of 2022. The Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 both closed at all-time highs, and the Nasdaq added 1.2%. Apple became the first U.S. company to reach a market cap of $3 trillion, while Amazon and the small-cap stocks may have enjoyed some buying interest due to a so-called January effect that often sees stocks that have gotten knocked down post gains now that end-of-the-year selling is over.

Crude oil traded up about 0.5% at around $76.50, while Bitcoin was up about 1% at $46,500. The yield on 10-year Treasuries was up nearly four basis points to around 1.67%, while the yield on the two-year note was up about two basis points to 0.79%. The 10-year/two-year spread widened to about 0.87. All three major indexes were indicating a higher open on Tuesday.

The stock that consistently draws the most chatter on social media, Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), added $13.5% to its share price on Monday following its Sunday report on fourth-quarter deliveries. The stock traded up by less than 1% in Tuesday’s premarket session at $1,205.23, not far from its all-time high. Wedbush analyst and Tesla bull Dan Ives called the company’s report a “trophy-case quarter” and a “jaw-dropper” illustrating the “massive momentum of the green tidal wave going into 2022.” Lucid, Nio and Canoo all added more than 5% to their share prices Monday as the tidal wave washed over most electric vehicle stocks.

Monday’s top gainer was Meta Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: MMAT), which added about 15% on no specific news. There appears to be a wide-ranging discussion of over-the-counter traded preferred shares Series A (MMTLP) and an expected dividend that many have been led to believe will be paid in the first quarter of 2022. It is complicated. Those who are really curious can check out Reddit’s r/MMTLP group.

Four activist investors have increased their stakes in Paysafe Ltd. (NYSE: PSFE). According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, CVC Capital Partners IV has taken a stake of 21.6% in the company, Blackstone Holdings III has disclosed ownership of 17.1%, Cannae Holdings has disclosed a stake of 8.89%, and William P. Foley has disclosed an ownership stake of 3.36%. The stock added about 3.6% on Monday and traded up more than another 3% in Tuesday’s premarket session.

Shares of AI fintech lender Upstart Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: UPST) dropped more than 4% on Monday to add to a 26% decline racked up in December. Upstart offered some unwelcome fourth-quarter guidance in November, which has been compounded by worries that the economy is going to slow down and people will not be quite so willing to borrow and spend. The shares traded up by less than 1% in Tuesday’s premarket.

24/7 Wall St.
5 Sizzling ‘Strong Buy’ Analyst Biotechnology Picks for 2022