Some meme stocks are taking over Wall Street, and I believe that investors could see some strong returns from investing in them. These stocks have been driven to insane valuations by coordinated buying from individual investors on social media platforms like Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets forum. While the frenzy around these so-called “meme stocks” may seem irrational on the surface, there are underlying reasons why certain companies have captured the imagination of retail investors.
Some of the investors behind these companies are trying to take down hedge funds, while others are doing it for less idealistic reasons, such as trying to force a short squeeze. Whatever their motivations, I believe that these meme stocks could soar in value later this year, which has led to the creation of this article.
So here are three meme stocks that investors should watch for March. I think they are in the process of taking off.
Beyond Meat (BYND)
Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) is known for its role in the vegan food sector. The company became a meme stock after its IPO in 2019 as retail investors on social media platforms like Reddit rallied behind the company, driving extreme volatility and outsized trading volumes.
Some investors are still holding onto their dreams for BYND to become a potential multi-bagger, with threads being posted on social media. However, the company is struggling. A notable action was the announcement of a workforce reduction aimed at achieving cost savings in 2024. This move is expected to result in cash savings of approximately $9.5 million to $10.5 million.
These cost-cutting measures come amid a reported net loss of $338.1 million, or $5.26 per share, in Q4’23. This was an improvement from the previous year’s net loss of $366.1 million, or $5.75 per share. The net loss included significant non-cash charges. Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $269.2 million.
Some investors are happy to gamble despite these losses, as BYND is up 33.18% over the past month.
BlackBerry (BB)
BlackBerry (NYSE:BB), transitioning from smartphones to cybersecurity, has seen unexpected stock performance and growth projections. Detached from BB’s current financial performance, the nostalgic brand name and hopes of a dramatic turnaround story led online retail investors to trade the stock furiously, sending it into meme stock status.
There has been some good news recently for BB meme stock investors which could be keeping some people’s hopes up. In the last quarter of FY2023, BB’s total revenue was approximately $151 million, with the IoT and cybersecurity segments contributing $53 million and $88 million, respectively. The company also beat EPS estimates, reporting earnings of 1 cent per share, against an expected loss of 3 cents per share. It also surpassed the revenue consensus estimate of $165.15 million.
Although BB’s EPS estimates for next year is expected to be negative, analysts are collectively bullish on its valuation. For instance, over the next twelve months, its valuation is expected to increase 44.23% to $4.50 as the average price target.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) has witnessed remarkable growth thanks to its impressive microchips.
While AMD is a solid company, retail traders on social media hyped up AMD’s potential to continue chipping away at rival Intel’s (NASDAQ:INTC) market share, sending its valuation soaring beyond what traditional analysis would support.
I think there’s a good chance that AMD will be one of those meme stocks that will deliver for risk-tolerant investors. The reason is that AMD’s EPS for Q4 2023 met analysts’ consensus at $0.77, with the quarter’s revenue reaching $6.17 billion, slightly above the consensus estimate of $6.13 billion.
Looking ahead to FY 024, analysts predict an EPS range from $0.41 to $1.31 across the quarters, with an annual average estimate of $3.05 EPS. Growth is anticipated into FY 2025, with EPS estimates improving further.
Some trends I see continuing this year for AMD include the progress it made in growing its data centre revenue, buoyed by AI tailwinds. Revenue from this segment soared to $2.3 billion in Q4 2023, marking a 38% increase year-over-year, driven by the strong growth of AMD Instinct GPUs.
On the date of publication, Matthew Farley did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.