Former hedge fund manager Steve Eisman, known for his role in predicting the 2008 financial crisis, is sounding the alarm on what he sees as a resurgence of “meme” stock mania, this time centered around Opendoor Technologies Inc. OPEN.
Check out the current price of OPEN stock here.
What Happened: On Saturday, on his podcast, “The Real Eisman Playbook,” he criticized the recent surge in Opendoor’s stock price, from $0.53 at the beginning of this month to a high of $3.21 per share last week, a 529% rally despite there being no meaningful news.
“That’s a social media short squeeze,” Eisman said, adding, “As far as I can tell, there is no new fundamental news out about Open.”
See Also: Stock Of The Day: Where Will The Opendoor Rally End?
According to Eisman, who rose to fame following his portrayal by Steve Carell in “The Big Short,” this rally was fueled by a hedge fund manager who has been heavily promoting the stock on social media.
Referring to Eric Jackson of EMJ Capital, he says, this individual, “is initiating a short squeeze on this still heavily shorted stock,” while calling his target price of $82 for the stock, which represents an upside of 3,128% from current levels, “either gutsy, nuts, or just plain bad manipulative stuff.”
Eisman reminds his listeners that Opendoor, an iBuying platform that allows homeowners to sell their properties instantly, has “a difficult balance sheet-intensive business,” one that Zillow Group Inc. Z tried and abandoned.
Calling the price surge “a sign of frothiness,” referring to excessive speculation and investor enthusiasm in the markets. He, however, warned retail investors about the dangers of chasing “meme” stocks.
“Getting involved with these meme stocks can be harmful to your health,” he said. “So far, this meme rally has not been all that impressive with not much duration, but we will see,” he adds.
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Why It Matters: Last week, Opendoor was among several other stocks, such as Kohl’s Corp. KSS, Krispy Kreme Inc. DNUT and GoPro Inc. GPRO that have been rallying on renewed retail investor interest.
Jackson, the fund manager who ignited Opendoor’s rally, has, however, distanced himself from the “meme” stock tag, saying that “it’s a real business.”
“Let the flippers chase the other meme stocks,” he says, marking a clear distinction between Opendoor and the others that have been rallying in recent weeks.
Earlier in the week, Jackson offered his thesis behind his target for the stock, while asking investors to buy core positions and “sit on your hands” for the long haul.
Price Action: Shares of Opendoor were up 4.96% on Friday, closing at $2.54, and are currently down 1.97% after hours.
According to Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, Opendoor scores high on Momentum and Value, with a favorable price trend in the short, medium and long terms. Click here for deeper insights into the stock, its peers and competitors.
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