Yonder has been monitoring conversations driven by influential subcultures online surrounding Robinhood's IPO, particularly in light of what took place when retail investors traded GameStop and AMC stock. Highlights below.
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The WallStreetBest subculture is the most influential faction — ever — observed to date. It grew from 4.4 million members on January 28, 2021 to 8.2 million on February 2, 2021 when retail investors traded GameStop and AMC stock. On the even of Robinhood's IPO, the group was engaged in conversations about regulators investigating the fact that Robinhood's CEO Vlad Tenev is not licensed by FINRA.
On IPO day, a narrative online focused on Robinhood's CEO, allegedly dumping 7,253,637 shares of $HOOD, amounting to $275,638,206 dollars. The narrative spread with a quote by the executive saying, "we want to take first time investors and turn them into long term investors." Online subcultures will often target executives in order to provoke brands, or the execs themselves, into correcting statements or issuing new ones in order to address social media chatter affecting their reputation.
Users online, and particularly on Reddit, called out those pumping Robinhood's new stock...recalling the events that took place in May 2021, when retail investors shorting GameStop and AMC stock claimed the company, controlled by hedge funds, prevented their own users from buying or selling once stock prices had surged.
The most influential subcultures starting and engaging in conversations about Robinhood's IPO are congregating on Reddit. From there, narratives are traveling to the mainstream, Twitter specifically, where the Mainstream Left groups as well as Left-Leaning Journalists are amplifying the narratives.
A subculture called Investing SubReddit has dedicated some time to trying to understand Robinhood's $32B valuation. They've shared posts comparing revenue and market caps of Robinhood and TD Ameritrade, attempting build a business case for why the company should have a valuation of around $3B instead.
