Retail investors talked up five hot stocks this week (Feb. 9 to Feb. 13) on X and Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets, driven by retail hype, earnings, AI buzz, and corporate news flow.
The stocks GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME), Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR), and Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA), spanning gaming, cryptocurrency, automotive, e-commerce, AI, cloud, software, data center, and semiconductors, reflected diverse investor interests.
GameStop
- GME centered on CEO Ryan Cohen‘s aggressive push for a transformational major acquisition of a large publicly traded consumer company, which he described as far more compelling than holding Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and capable of turning GameStop into a multi-hundred-billion-dollar powerhouse. Other mentions included retail store opening/closure plans for 2026.
- Some retail investors were bullish on GME’s prospects over the other retail and meme favorite stock, Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN).
- The stock had a 52-week range of $19.93 to $35.81, trading around $23 to $25 per share, as of the publication of this article. It fell 10.71% over the year and advanced by 2.17% over the last six months.
- GME had a weaker price trend in the long term but a strong trend in the short and medium terms, with a strong growth ranking, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings.
Amazon.com
- AMZN continued to be in focus after the company’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings release last week, which showed strong results, including revenue of $213.4 billion, AWS accelerating to 24% growth, and overall operating income rising sharply. However, the standout—and market-shaking—announcement was CEO Andy Jassy‘s projection of roughly $200 billion in capital expenditures for 2026, primarily to fuel aggressive AI infrastructure, data centers, chips, robotics, and other opportunities like low-earth-orbit satellites.
- Some retail investors believed that AMZN has the strongest supply chain network, and no investor should think of selling the stock.
- The stock had a 52-week range of $161.43 to $258.60, trading around $199 to $201 per share, as of the publication of this article. It declined by 13.36% over the year and rose just 11.12% in the last six months.
- AMZN had a weaker price trend in the short, medium, and long term, with a solid quality ranking as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings.
Palantir Technologies
- PLTR had a mix of positive developments and renewed valuation concerns amid ongoing post-earnings volatility. Palantir and Airbus announced an extension of their strategic collaboration, bolstering their aerospace/defense presence with multi-year commitments. The company also received key DISA authorization for PFCS Forward, extending IL5 and IL6 accreditation to on-premises and edge deployments—this expands deployability for classified U.S. government/military workloads, seen as a significant win for mission-critical AI applications. Also, Big Short Michael Burry‘s analysis pointed to a “Next Support” level near $80 and an ultimate “Landing Area” between $50 and $60, predicting a 58% collapse in the stock.
- Some retail investors acknowledged that Burry’s analysis fueled a sharp sell-off in the stock.
- The stock had a 52-week range of $66.12 to $207.52, trading around $128 to $131 per share, as of the publication of this article. It returned 9.55% over the year and declined 29.94% in the last six months.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings showed that PLTR had a weaker price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a solid growth score.
Tesla
- TSLA centered on executive changes, analyst views, and ongoing debates about the company’s AI/robotics pivot amid persistent valuation and performance concerns. Tesla VP Raj Jegannathan announced his departure via LinkedIn, marking another leadership shakeup in sales following prior exits and adding to scrutiny over operational stability. It named its European operations head, Joe Ward, to oversee global sales, aiming to streamline worldwide efforts. Meanwhile, Cathie Wood‘s ARK Venture Fund (ARKVX) confirmed that SpaceX and xAI have officially solidified SpaceX as the fund’s largest single position
- Some retail investors mocked Elon Musk for venturing into various businesses.
- The stock had a 52-week range of $214.25 to $498.82, trading around $415 to $420 per share, as of the publication of this article. It was up by 17.17% over the year and 22.89% over the last six months.
- TSLA maintains a stronger price trend over the long term but a weak trend in the short and medium terms, with a solid quality score, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings.
Nvidia
- NVDA was positioning itself ahead of the Feb. 25 fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report, amid ongoing AI demand tailwinds and minor headwinds. Wall Street remained overwhelmingly positive, with 94% of analysts rating it Buy/Strong Buy and none Sell, including Bank of America reiterating Buy with a $250–$275 target, Evercore ISI at $352, and UBS raising its target to $245.
- Retail investors were impatient about the stock not breaking the $193 mark.
- The stock had a 52-week range of $86.63 to $212.19, trading around $186 to $190 per share, as of the publication of this article. It gained by 38.18% over the year and 2.95% over the last six months.
- According to Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, NVDA was maintaining a stronger price trend over short, medium, and long terms, with a solid growth ranking.
Retail focus blended meme-driven narrative with earnings outlook and corporate news flow, as the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq witnessed negative market action during the week.
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