What Happened?
Shares of global media and entertainment company iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) jumped 11.5% in the afternoon session after the company's shares became the focus of social media-driven traders, turning it into a so-called 'meme stock'.
The stock experienced a surge in trading activity, similar to what its industry peer, Beasley Media Group, saw the previous day. Reports indicated that traders in online chat rooms, like those on Discord, and on the social media platform X, were actively encouraging the purchase of iHeartMedia shares. This coordinated buying effort aimed to drive the price higher, leading to brisk trading volume and a sharp upward movement in the stock's value.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
iHeartMedia’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 68 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for iHeartMedia and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 1 day ago when the stock gained 5% on the news that the stock continued its strong upward momentum from the previous trading session, which saw a significant price surge on high volume.
On the prior trading day, iHeartMedia's stock price gained more than 13%, with shares fluctuating significantly throughout the day. This rally was accompanied by an increase in trading volume, which is often seen as a positive technical sign by traders. No specific company announcements or fundamental news appeared to be the direct cause for the initial sharp increase, suggesting the move was driven by market trading dynamics rather than a new development within the company.
iHeartMedia is up 159% since the beginning of the year, and at $5.24 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of iHeartMedia’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $426.65.
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