Retail investors talked up five hot stocks this week (Dec. 15 to Dec. 19) on X and Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets, driven by earnings, retail hype, AI buzz, and corporate news flow.
The stocks, PayPal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL), Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (NASDAQ:DJT), Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU), Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN), and Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE), spanning finance, crypto, semiconductors, AI, automotive, and sports, reflected diverse retail interests.
Don’t Miss:
PayPal’s key developments centered on its Dec. 15 announcement of applications to establish “PayPal Bank,” a Utah-chartered industrial loan company, aiming to directly accept deposits and issue loans amid a more open U.S. regulatory environment for fintechs. This sparked mixed reactions, with shares dipping slightly mid-week before Morgan Stanley’s Dec. 18 downgrade, citing sluggish growth prospects through 2028.
A comment on r/WallStreetBets subreddit.
Source: Reddit
The stock had a 52-week range of $55.85 to $93.24, trading around $58 to $60 per share, as of the publication of this article. It was down 31.03% year-to-date and 31.50% over the year.
The stock had a weaker price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a moderate value ranking, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings. Other performance details are available here.
DJT announced a $6 billion all-stock merger with nuclear fusion company TAE Technologies, aimed at developing utility-scale fusion power plants to meet AI-driven energy demands. The deal, expected to close in mid-2026, would make shareholders of each company own about 50% of the combined entity, with TMTG as the holding company for Truth Social and TAE’s operations.
A comment on r/WallStreetBets subreddit.
Source: Reddit
The stock had a 52-week range of $10.18 to $43.45, trading around $14 to $16 per share, as of the publication of this article. It was down 56.32% year-to-date and 58.03% over the year.
Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings showed that the stock had a weaker price trend in the short, medium, and long terms. Additional performance details are available here.
Trending: Americans With a Financial Plan Can 4X Their Wealth — Get Your Personalized Plan from a CFP Pro
MU was dominated by pre-earnings anticipation followed by its fiscal first quarter 2026 results on Dec. 17, where the company reported strong beats on revenue and EPS, driven by soaring AI-related memory demand and tight supply.
A comment on r/WallStreetBets subreddit.
Source: Reddit
The stock had a 52-week range of $61.54 to $264.75, trading around $248 to $252 per share, as of the publication of this article. It was up 184.61% year-to-date and 184.61% over the year.
The stock had a stronger price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a solid quality ranking, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings. Other performance details are available here.
RIVN focused on continued market reaction to its Dec. 11 Autonomy & AI Day revelations, including the in-house autonomy chip and software subscription plans, with shares fluctuating amid mixed analyst views. Later in the week, it expanded hands-free assisted driving and rolled out new software updates that give drivers more control and customization across Gen 1 and Gen 2 vehicles.
A comment on r/WallStreetBets subreddit.
Source: Reddit
The stock had a 52-week range of $10.36 to $20.33, trading around $20 to $22 per share, as of the publication of this article. It was up 53.06% YTD and 55.28% over the year.
According to Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, it was maintaining a stronger price trend over short, medium, and long terms, with a moderate growth ranking. Additional performance details are available here.
See Also: Forget Flipping Houses—This Fund Lets You Invest in Home Equity Like Wall Street Does
NKE shares plummeted after reporting the second-quarter results on Thursday despite beating estimates. Management issued a cautious outlook defined by shrinking margins and deepening struggles in China during the second-quarter earnings call.
A comment on r/WallStreetBets subreddit.
Source: Reddit
The stock had a 52-week range of $52.28 to $82.44, trading around $58 to $65 per share, as of the publication of this article. It was down 10.91% year-to-date but 14.88% over the year.
It maintains a weaker price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a strong growth score, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings. Additional performance details are available here.
Retail focus blended meme-driven narrative with earnings outlook and corporate news flow, as the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq largely witnessed mixed market action during the week.
Read Next: Wall Street’s $12B Real Estate Manager Is Opening Its Doors to Individual Investors — Without the Crowdfunding Middlemen
Image via Shutterstock
UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets.
Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga:
This article PYPL, DJT, MU And More: 5 Stocks Investors Couldn’t Stop Buzzing About This Week originally appeared on Benzinga.com
Pakistan has barred 'professional beggars' and travellers with incomplete documents from going abroad after thousands of its nationals were deported...
