wallstreet:online AG, AMC, GameStop, Robinhood - The hunting season has begun!

wallstreet:online - Moving ahead with its broker

The wallstreet:online Group can look back on a successful 2020 in its Annual General Meeting. The Group has now clearly directed its focus to the broker business but overall sees itself as the optimal link between information and financial transactions. The balance sheet profit of EUR 5.3 million will be carried forward to the new account in accordance with the resolution. With Smartbroker, the W:O Group operates an online broker that has won several awards and is the only provider in Germany to combine the extensive product range of traditional brokers with the favorable conditions of neobrokers. With more than 187,000 managed securities accounts, the Berlin-based financial services provider is already one of the most important providers on the German market. In total, the Company manages assets worth EUR 6.8 billion.

The second mainstay is the original business, which comprises four stock market portals with strong coverage (wallstreet-online.de, boersenNews.de, FinanzNachrichten.de and ARIVA.de). With around 376 million monthly page impressions, the Group is the largest publisher-independent financial portal operator in the German-speaking world and the largest financial community. More than 830,000 finance-savvy users are registered in the forums of the four stock market portals.

The latest figures sound good: The Group's revenues increased by 57% to EUR 23.8 million in the first half of the year, while operating EBITDA before customer acquisition costs rose from EUR 4.4 million to EUR 9.0 million. This does not include the EUR 7.9 million acquisition costs for new customers and other undisclosed one-off effects. Forecasts for 2021 are EUR 45 to 50 million in sales, with operating EBITDA before special costs estimated at EUR 16.5 to 18.5 million. The W:O share has now reached a capitalization of around EUR 340 million, while other fintechs or neobrokers are valued significantly higher in some cases. The outstanding position of the Group as an integrated information and trading platform is unique in Germany, so steep growth is pre-programmed.

AMC Entertainment - Another blow for the shorties

The ants are joining the ranks again and are teaching the professionals a lesson. Since the beginning of July, the turnover of the shares of AMC and GameStop has been relatively poor. In the meantime, however, you can see sudden rises again as if by magic; it is probably beginning again in the Reddit discussion forums! It makes the impression that the speculators probably need a small creative break to get themselves back into position. The day before yesterday, it happened, AMC went up by 25% after the stock exchange opening. There was no corporate news, no SEC filings, even in the rumor mill, no hot soup was waiting.

The lack of news is a clear indication that this is once again a rally of small investors who switch to the order screen when the green momentum lamp lights up. The analysis firm Ortex reports that the short-sellers at AMC are already crooked again with USD 800 million. As a general rule, investors should not buy stocks trading at a 30 times sales factor and a negative P/E ratio. AMC shares were still trading at USD 12 at the end of May, and in June, they announced a third capital increase at around USD 50. But at least AMC explicitly warns its investors not to invest in its own stock. The same slapstick could have been created in the jungle camp!

GameStop - The train 3.0 of the meme shares rolls on

Similar is the situation with GameStop. This share shot up from USD 160 to 220 at the beginning of the week. Here one had already long believed the story would be through. But now the 3rd meme wave is seemingly underway. Meme shares show drastic price increases and are additionally fueled by rumors on social media. Short sellers are also losing USD 300 million again at GameStop, according to unofficial calculations.

The trick in the system now seems obvious. Traders leave the formerly hyped share for weeks until hedge fund managers come forward again with a short sale. If this takes on an attractive volume, the rumors of new achievements at GameStop come up. The price explodes in their wake, as margin calls force coverage - a perpetual motion machine for gamblers and speculators who set this herd instinct in motion.
A quick look at the trading statistics: This week shows 10 times the volume to prior weeks. According to analytics tool SwaggyStocks, GameStop stock is currently the most actively discussed stock on Reddit's "WallStreetBets" forum, with a 37% share. But beware: If the thread breaks, it will go down here with a vengeance, and very quickly.

Robinhood - Started big, fell deep

One particular brokerage house sits in the control center of meme stocks - the hip US platform Robinhood trades in the smallest sizes but with the highest number of hits. However, its IPO turned out to be smaller than many expected. With a subscription price of USD 38, the Company went to market with a valuation of USD 32 billion. After a brief dip to USD 33, the value almost tripled within 48 hours, only to collapse sharply. The high volatility of meme stocks is thus wonderfully reflected in the social media-driven broker Robinhood.

Interestingly, the Company tried to prevent its users from selling the papers again immediately after the IPO. Ultimately, however, the gambler mentality with which the Company wants to continue earning money from its customers' frequent trades. Losses can probably still be expected until mid-2022. As long as the number of traders grows below the line and money can be injected in case of difficulties, the business model should work out. From this point of view, Robinhood can definitely be put on the watch list because the number of active shareholders, including speculators, continues to grow daily in the financial bubble 3.0 worldwide.

Our selection today deals with the wonderful world of financial markets. Anyone who participates here as an investor should, at the latest since the financial crisis in 2008, only get involved with partners of impeccable quality. Meme stocks are in demand, especially among speculators and hedge funds, because of their high volatility. Those who participate in wallstreet:online, on the other hand, buy solid growth and participate in the general dynamics of the capital investment business.