The increase in retail investors has put heavy emphasis on “meme stocks” that go viral across the internet. Apex Clearing is out with results on how millennial and Gen Z investors traded in the first quarter.

What To Know: Apex Clearing, which is going public in a SPAC merger with Northern Star Investment Corp II (NYSE:NSTB), puts together Top 100 lists tracking stocks held by age demographics. The results come from more than three million U.S.-based millennials and over 1 million Gen Z users.

“At the outset of 2021, we quickly saw younger traders ditching the holds they had on vaccine leaders in favor of stocks like AMC and GameStop that weren’t previously ranked, fueled by buzz in chat rooms and social media platforms,” the company said.

In 2020, Apex Clearing helped facilitate more than 450 million trades. In January 2021, the company facilitated 68 million trades. Apex represents more than 200 clients globally and 15 million accounts, including five million new accounts opened in the first quarter of 2021.

Related Link: Exclusive: Apex Clearing CEO Says Brokers Like Robinhood 'Wouldn't Exist' Without The Digital Custodian

Meme Stocks: Forums like Reddit helped push certain stocks to the top of the Millenial Top 100 from Apex.

• GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) ranked fifth and AMC Entertainment Holdings (NYSE:AMC) ranked seventh.
• On the Gen Z Top 100 list, GameStop ranked fourth and AMC ranked sixth.
• Boomers did not rank GameStop in the top 100 and AMC ranked relatively low at no. 76.

Penny Stocks: Shares of companies trading under $5 were loved by both millennials and Gen Z investors in the first quarter. Penny stocks ranked nine points higher on average in the Gen Z Top 100 list versus the Millenial Top 100 list.
Apex credits the rise of new traders and the influence of online communities as increasing the interest in penny stocks.

In February 2021, more than 1.9 trillion OTC transactions took place, an increase of more than 2,000% year-over-year. Many penny stocks trade in over-the-counter markets.

Related Link: Best Penny Stocks Under $1 

Reopening Plays: Young investors were buying up shares of companies seen as reopening trades including vaccine makers, airlines and cruise companies. Millennials and Gen Z traders trimmed positions throughout the first quarter after many of the companies saw an increase in share price.

Giants Top List: Even with the increased interest in meme stocks and penny stocks from new retail traders in the first quarter, the Top 100 lists were topped by well-known large companies.

Crypto Stocks: The rise in interest in cryptocurrency stocks saw some movement in the Top 100 lists from Apex Clearing.