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The Battle of GameStop

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Re: The Battle of GameStop

#301

Post by irjustin »

shrikant wrote: post #286
shouldiquitamzn wrote: post #17

I’ve made millions on WSB options plays. I can finally quit my job and stop being a cubicle slave. The visceral reaction from the media on this is disgusting. Major hedge funds got caught on the wrong side of this, and have been making a huge stink about it. CNBC to the rescue, demonizing young middle class Reddit investors. This whole thing has opened my eyes to how even my FAANG compensation is peasant money, it’s…

Since this comment is one of the top threads, I'm just going to re-post my earlier comment from one of the sub-threads: This comment about having made millions leveraging on SPY and QQQ over the course of 100+ trades doesn't check out, given that a few days back, this commenter created this throwaway account to complain about finding it hard to quit their job at Amazon because the pay is so good. https://news.ycombin…

Perhaps this guy isn't real, but there's plenty of guys on WSB who have been able to do it. They're the dream to achieve. I admit I'm jealous myself because I missed out on great buys like NIO, PLTR, GME.

I'm paying attention now, but I'm worried I missed the boat already.

Re: The Battle of GameStop

#302

Post by throwaway894345 »

willis936 wrote: post #97
throwaway894345 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The argument is that we’re working to keep a roof over our heads now because we YOLOed through college. And while that doesn’t describe me, I had a lot of peers who partied through college, skipped classes, hardly worked, majored in women’s studies / art history / literature / etc and still managed to live in the dorms, buy daily lattes, have the latest iPhones, etc.

>The argument is that we’re working to keep a roof over our heads now because we YOLOed through college. And while that doesn’t describe me Nor me. I worked throughout all of undergrad. My work paid for my grad degree. I have an MSEE and am looking at $50k of student debt. My income is such that I expect the only way my debt will go away in the next ten years is through PSLF. Owning a house before I’m 40? I’m not so…

I mean, with respect I don’t know how you are working with an MSEE and aren’t able to pay down $50 over 10 years without a lofty lifestyle. Perhaps if you live in NYC or SV where the cost of living is absurd, but I don’t think your experience is typical.

Re: The Battle of GameStop

#303

Post by 55555 »

ollifi wrote: post #224
gruez wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>It's a never-ending shit-show. At least some of us are getting rich in /r/wallstreetbets. This is sad because most of what you've said can be applied to lotteries as well, which historically has been criticized as being a "tax" on the poor. The end result is the same: people putting themselves in a worse place financially (on average), just so they can cope with their bleak existence.

/r/wsb is kind of insanity, but I’ve come to think that maybe young person can YOLO a bit against the odds somewhere in life. If something returns poorly on average, but has high payouts at the top it might just work out. Your life won’t be the average case but single sample. Lottery is too improbable but some other things ”no rational person would do” can be ok. Main thing is to get over with it soon and protect the…

> I’ve come to think that maybe young person can YOLO a bit against the odds somewhere in life. If something returns poorly on average, but has high payouts at the top it might just work out. Your life won’t be the average case but single sample.

This is indeed, after all, a website about founding startups.

Re: The Battle of GameStop

#304

Post by stevievee »

Where is the evidence that most of the volume came from wsb users? Genuinely curious because I don't know the details. Is it possible that a third party saw the situation and joined in?

Re: The Battle of GameStop

#305

Post by thrwyoilarticle »

TheFattestNinja wrote: post #208
belval wrote: post #144

I feel like a lot of the commenters here either never actually went on /r/wsb or are trying to glorify it with a narrative that is absolutely disconnected from the real thing. They are not somekind of community trying to "stick it to wall street", they are mostly just random people shitposting all the time, posting their gains and losses. Right now it's GME, before it was SPY/TSLA/NIO. No need to overthink it. Sure t…

But isn't that kind of the point of the discussion? A bunch of shitposters band together and manage to align themselves with someone with resources and interests to create a "movement" that is self-sustaining. The article makes parallelisms with the Capitol attack and other forms of self-fulfilling prophecies. Enough believers is the fuel, someone with resources makes a spark, things ignite.

WSB didn't create it. A billionaire founder created it and retail came along for the ride. The differences in holdings, excluding the anomolous millionaires, are enormous. Attributing this to WSB is calling them more powerful than they are.

Re: The Battle of GameStop

#306

Post by glazyrin »

dvt wrote: post #6

> The same emotion that caused us to root for the thieves in Ocean’s 11 is what makes Wall Street Bets so enticing. Put frankly, Millennials are tired of getting fucked by the man. When you’re underemployed with $100,000 in student loan debt, your financial situation feels overwhelming. You really don’t want to take the advice of your parents or CNBC talking heads [5] to invest 10% of your salary for a 4% annual retu…

Lots of these points hit home - but why blame older people for your generation having less sex? Baby boomers didn't make casual sex illegal, nor have they bought up all the sex. Until covid, if young people wanted to have sex with each other they were perfectly free to.

Isn't it simply that masturbation and pornography have become relatively more attractive propositions than they were in the past?

Re: The Battle of GameStop

#307

Post by thrwyoilarticle »

Clewza313 wrote: post #33

A couple of hedge fund managers shorting GME may have gotten kicked in the nuts, but Wall Street as a whole is laughing all the way to the bank. A friend of mine working at a high-frequency trading co says 2020 was their best year ever and by a long shot, because volatility plus clueless retail investors (yes, that means you, /r/wsb'ers YOLOing on Robinhood) means arbitrage and frontrunning rakes in money.

S&P 500 returned 18.4% in 2020. Congratulations to your friend.

Re: The Battle of GameStop

#308

Post by fennecfoxen »

oceanplexian wrote: post #41
fennecfoxen wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People exist who in the past two days paid $150 for a share that most analysts think is worth about $14 — at a company with negative earnings for six of the last seven quarters, and minimal earnings growth over the past few years. I'm sure there was some bull case for the company, and it might have had a snowball's chance in hell around $14 or even $20/share. But at $60+ ? What on God's good earth is supposed to make…

The point of the post is that sentiment drives value, not the other way around. It’s a profound thesis and it makes the opinions of analysts irrelevant. If enough people want GameStop to succeed then it will. Ironically it’s the same thesis that wealthy SV investors go by when they decide to invest in a startup. Except the word invest is usually misleading. Most of the time they’re just looking for a vehicle to injec…

This is less profound than you think it is.

The sentiment story is that if enough people want to pay $150 a share for approximately $0/yr in earnings, they will. What this glosses over is the reason for the sentiment, the question: "why do people want to pay this?"

Traditional stories analysts tell would have people pay $150/share because they expect $8-$15/yr. This story is that people will pay $150/share because people want a way to say 'fuck wall street' and 'fuck analysts' and have unreasonable expectations of becoming wealthy. The former sentiment is sustainable in a way that the latter story kinda isn't.

Re: The Battle of GameStop

#309

Post by thrwyoilarticle »

konjin wrote: post #156
anonymouse008 wrote: post #138

Am I the only one who sees WSB and thinks, "yep, this is what trading floors would look like without compliance and HR"?

This is what it looks like anyway. You just don't put it in any form that can be subpoenaed.

Unless it's a Bloomberg terminal chat, in which case shitpost away.

Re: The Battle of GameStop

#310

Post by Miner49er »

irjustin wrote: post #301
shrikant wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since this comment is one of the top threads, I'm just going to re-post my earlier comment from one of the sub-threads: This comment about having made millions leveraging on SPY and QQQ over the course of 100+ trades doesn't check out, given that a few days back, this commenter created this throwaway account to complain about finding it hard to quit their job at Amazon because the pay is so good. https://news.ycombin…

Perhaps this guy isn't real, but there's plenty of guys on WSB who have been able to do it. They're the dream to achieve. I admit I'm jealous myself because I missed out on great buys like NIO, PLTR, GME. I'm paying attention now, but I'm worried I missed the boat already.

In my experience there will likely be another boat (or yatch). Back in 2016/2017 the meme was AMD, then there was TSLA and then GME, and lots of smaller ones in between. There will be more.
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