Retail investors talked up five hot stocks during the week (Sept. 28 to Oct. 2) on X and Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets, driven by retail hype, earnings, AI infrastructure momentum, and corporate news flow.
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU), Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE), Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD), and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), spanning the semiconductor memory, athletic apparel, social media, high-performance computing, and internet search sectors, reflected strong retail interest.
Micron Technology
- MU was in focus this week for its fiscal fourth-quarter report. The memory-chip maker posted record quarterly revenue of $54.23 billion, above the $51.13 billion consensus estimate, while adjusted EPS of $33.42 beat the $31.50 estimate. Micron also guided fiscal first-quarter revenue to $61.5 billion ± $1.5 billion and adjusted EPS to $38.15 ± $1.00, supported by strong AI-driven memory demand. The company said HBM4 shipments are already in high volume for a lead customer, while HBM4E production is expected in 2027, reinforcing investor focus on Micron’s role in AI infrastructure growth. CFO Mark Murphy outlined a specific timeline for utilizing the semiconductor manufacturer’s cash reserves as it ended its fiscal year 2026 with $73.48 billion in cash and investments.
- Retail investors were optimistic about the buybacks and expected a year-end rally in the stock price.
- The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $179.61 to $1,255.00, trading around $1096 to $1105 per share, as of the publication of this article. It advanced by 502.47% over the last year and 198.33% over the last six months. The stock was up 284.50% year-to-date.
- According to Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, MU was maintaining a strong price trend over the short, medium and long terms, with a good growth score.
Nike
- NKE was in focus this week after reporting fiscal first-quarter 2027 results on Oct. 1. Revenue fell 4% to $11.2 billion, while diluted EPS came in at $0.48 and gross margin improved 60 basis points to 42.8%. Nike said momentum continued in its performance business but acknowledged weakness in Nike Sportswear, Jordan Brand and Greater China. The company also introduced Pace, a restructuring and operating-model program expected to generate about $2.5 billion in cumulative savings through fiscal 2031, while guiding fiscal 2027 revenue to decline by a high-single-digit percentage and adjusted EPS to $1.15-$1.35.
- Following its poor stock performance, some retail traders were mocking NKE as a bad investment.
- The stock had a 52-week range of $35.02 to $74.78, trading around $30 to $36 per share, as of the publication of this article. It declined by 52.63% over the year and fell 21.24% in the last six months. The stock was down 44.83% YTD.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings showed that NKE had a weak price trend in the short, long, and medium terms, with a poor quality score.
Meta Platforms
- Earlier this week, Meta entered Europe’s bond market as part of the broader financing buildout for AI infrastructure. On Sept. 30, the Meta Oversight Board urged AI companies to create independent, diverse oversight bodies. On Oct. 1, Meta was grouped with Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in scrutiny over the scale of Big Tech AI investment, while Google’s Gemini 4 Argon launch intensified competitive pressure on Meta and other frontier-model developers. By Oct. 2, analysts were still focused on whether Google’s aggressive AI pricing could force rivals, including Meta, to respond.
- Some retail investors had a bleak outlook on AI companies utilizing their user data and just wanted returns from the stock investment.
- The stock had a 52-week range of $520.26 to $779.82, trading around $724 to $729 per share, as of the publication of this article. It rose by 1.20% over the year and 25.33% in the last six months. The stock was up 9.97% YTD.
- META maintains a strong price trend over the long, medium, and short terms, with a moderate value score, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings.
Advanced Micro Devices
- Advanced Micro Devices was in focus this week after announcing an $8.2 billion all-stock deal to acquire AI lab World Labs on Sept. 28, with founder Fei-Fei Li set to join AMD as chief scientist. On Sept. 29, StoneX reiterated a Buy rating with a $685 target, while Rosenblatt maintained Buy with a $700 target. Bank of America also included AMD among its top semiconductor picks into year-end on Sept. 30. By Oct. 1-2, attention shifted to the broader AI chip boom and reports that Samsung could sharply raise HBM pricing next year, an important development for AI accelerator economics across the sector.
- Most retail investors were bullish on AMD despite acknowledging its higher valuations.
- The stock had a 52-week range of $163.14 to $639.00, trading around $614 to $626 per share, as of the publication of this article. It rose by 275.42% over the year, rose 192.91% over the last six months, and is higher by 187.51% YTD.
- According to Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, AMD was maintaining a strong price trend over the short, long, and medium terms, with a poor value score.
Alphabet
- GOOGL was in focus this week as AI competition and regulatory risk dominated headlines. On Sept. 28, Piper Sandler reiterated an Overweight rating and raised its price target to $400. On Oct. 1, Google introduced Guided Vision in Gemini Live on Android for blind and low-vision users, while reports said the company could face about $3.2 billion in damages claims tied to an ad-tech monopoly case. The biggest catalyst came Oct. 1-2 with the launch of Gemini 4 Argon, which analysts said could intensify pressure on rivals such as OpenAI and Meta and potentially force lower AI-model pricing. GOOGL analyst ratings.
- Some retail investors were mocking GOOGL’s new Gemini 4 Argon AI model.
- The stock has traded in the 52-week range of $235.84 to $408.61, trading around $337 to $340 per share, as of the publication of this article. It rose by 38.11% over the year, rose 13.74% over the last six months, and is up 8.06% YTD.
- According to Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, GOOGL was maintaining a strong price trend over the long, short, and medium terms, with a poor value score.
Retail focus comprised AI infrastructure momentum, earnings, and corporate news-driven narratives, with broader market action during the week.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
Recent Comments