Analysis: Retail trading appetite robust even as stock-buying frenzy cools
A 3D printed Robinhood logo and one dollar bills can be seen in front of the displayed GameStop logo in this illustration dated February 8, 2021. REUTERS / Dado Ruvic Retailers have moved from "meme stocks" to large-cap names and exchange-traded funds, and while their activity has slowed from their January high, the rapid pace of new retail accounts opening means laypeople are likely to remain a market power. Retail levels skyrocketed earlier in the year, aided by frenzied purchases of stocks like GameStop Corp (GME.N). However, according to the data, a pullback followed, although investors were expected to use stimulus checks to trade. "We expected this huge inflow of retail cash to come in after the stimulus checks in March. That didn't happen," said Eric Liu, co-founder of Vanda Research, which monitors retail operations. Liu said retail investors selling favorites like GameStop in February or March likely got burned as most of the names retailing stacked i...