Zhi Tong Cai Jing·2025-07-23 10:49Group 1 - Barclays suggests it is time to apply brakes on the meme stock frenzy that has driven up the prices of companies like Kohl's (KSS.US) and Opendoor Technologies (OPEN.US) [1] - Retail traders have been flocking to these previously undervalued stocks, resulting in a cumulative increase of over 69% for Kohl's and more than 440% for Opendoor since July [1] - The rapid rise in stock prices raises concerns about a potential sudden decline, reminiscent of the speculative frenzy surrounding GameStop (GME.US) during the pandemic [1] Group 2 - Barclays' equity frenzy indicator, which quantifies investor sentiment through options data, has surged to its highest level since December of last year [3] - Analysts Stefano Pascale and Anshul Gupta have been warning since early July about excessive market enthusiasm, citing signs of a bubble market [3] - Pascale emphasizes that while many investors recognize the bubble, they struggle to identify which stocks will be the "losers" when the market corrects [3] Group 3 - Piper Sandler identifies Celsius Holdings (CELH.US) and NRG Energy (NRG.US) as suitable candidates for a dispersion trading strategy, given their significant price increases of 68% and 71% respectively this year [4] - Chief strategist Steve Sosnick notes that current market activity resembles the peak of the meme stock frenzy in 2021, but questions the effectiveness of dispersion trading in this context [4] - Sosnick highlights the challenge of predicting when a bubble will burst, stating that bubbles can persist for a long time, especially with liquidity injections in the market [4]