It’s a tough crowd over on “fintwit” and today’s no different as CNBC’s Jim Cramer is catching flak for highlighting Clean Energy Fuels (NASDAQ:CLNE) as “today’s meme stock.” Maybe they’re just jealous because they missed the boat before pre-market investors sent CLNE stock up nearly 25% on Wednesday morning.
To be fair, CLNE stock has actually been one of the most mentioned stocks on this Reddit forum of late. And various sites point to Clean Energy as one of the “stonks” to buy right now, alongside other familiar names. Cramer caveated his tweet:
That set fintwit, or financial Twitter, alight, with its usual questioning of the pundit’s logic and overall bona fides. Cramer fans may recall that it was only a few weeks ago when the “Mad Money” host said CLNE stock “has run out of gas because we’re not going natural gas. I’m sorry.”
Today's meme stock is Clean Energy Fuels. Be careful, while i have always liked the company b/c i favor nat gas for short and long haul, the company's had no real revenue growth and almost no profitability in a decade. There will be sellers.
— Jim Cramer (@jimcramer) June 9, 2021
CLNE Stock Getting a Boost From Retail Traders
Clean Energy is focused on providing renewable energy to the masses. Its target for renewable natural gas production appears to have struck a chord with retail investors for more than one reason. Indeed, clean energy in and of itself is an industry folks can get behind. Energy consumption is likely to soar coming out of this pandemic. However, clean energy is likely to be the focus of long-term growth investors.
To be sure, CLNE stock is a hot theme right now. And listening to the masses, one has to believe that this stock could gain momentum as a movement. Similar to other high-profile meme stocks, investors are increasingly buying stocks for reasons other than the underlying fundamentals of said companies. There’s no doubt that most such meme stocks aren’t worth what they’re trading at today. But when fundamentals no longer matter, the sky’s the limit. At least, that’s what retail investors are betting on.
On the date of publication, Robert Lakin did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
InvestorPlace contributor Robert Lakin is a veteran financial writer and editor, including previous stints with Bloomberg News and as a buyside equity research editor. His Substack newsletter, TLV Strategist, covers the Israel business scene.
