Goldman Sachs senior strategist John Marshall is urging investors to revisit meme stocks – equities that attract outsized attention and trading volume from retail investors – amid a resurgence in Main Street participation.
Marshall believes retail enthusiasm is now spilling over from niche sectors like crypto and artificial intelligence (AI) into large-cap names, creating asymmetric upside potential.
With retail flows accelerating and monetary policy likely to ease, the setup is starting to resemble the speculative fervor of 2021, he told clients in his latest research note.
Why Goldman Sachs recommends owning meme stocks?
John Marshall’s constructive thesis on meme stocks hinged on two intertwined tailwinds: softening inflation and the rising probability of an interest rate cut in September.
According to the Goldman Sachs’ strategist, if Federal Reserve follows through, lower borrowing costs could meaningfully amplify risk appetite – especially among retail traders.
In his report, he said retail flows have recently shifted from small-cap speculative plays into large-cap tech and industrial names, suggesting broader momentum.
However, the investment bank cautioned that any upside surprise in inflation data could derail this trend.
For now, though, it sees opportunity in stocks with high retail engagement and recommends call options to capitalise on potential upside.
The following are two large-cap meme stocks (seeing very high retail participation) that particularly standout to Goldman Sachs in the second half of 2025.
Palantir Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: PLTR)
Palantir has long been a darling of retail traders, thanks to its government contracts, AI narrative, and cult-like following online.
According to Goldman Sachs, net retail activity in PLTR stock stood at about $1.2 billion over the past month, making it the most heavily traded S&P 500 name by Main Street investors.
While Palantir’s valuation remains rather stretched, its recent defense and enterprise wins signal rapid growth in both of its core segments (government and commercial) – reinforcing that its stock is more than just a speculative play.
As Wedbush’s senior analyst, Dan Ives put it in a recent CNBC interview: “if you focus on valuation you missed every transformational tech stock in the last 20 years.”
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ: AMD)
AMD has recently captured retail attention with as much as $774 million in net activity.
The chipmaker is seen as a key beneficiary of the AI boom, with its GPUs increasingly deployed in data centres and high-performance computing.
Much like Palantir shares, AMD stock is also currently trading at a stretched valuation compared to historical norms, but John Marshall believes its fundamentals support further upside – especially since institutional inflows via derivatives are rising alongside retail interest.
Plus, now that Advanced Micro Devices has cut a revenue-sharing deal with the US government to resume business in China, its financials will only improve moving forward.
In short, AMD stock offers both momentum and substance, the investment bank concluded.
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