Have you ever heard of BANG stocks? They’re made up of four companies everyone is familiar with: Blackberry, AMC, Nokia, and GameStop. AMC and GameStop made huge headlines in the news throughout 2021 with their short-squeezing and epic battle between retail traders and hedge funds. But what about the other two stocks that comprise this grouping?
BANG stocks are just a fun way to refer to the four companies. They are Blackberry (NYSE: $BB), AMC Entertainment (NYSE: $AMC), Nokia (NYSE: $NOK), and GameStop (NYSE: $GME). These stocks made huge gains after their names were circulated across different social media groups, including WSB.
Much like FAANG stocks, we now have BANG stocks. Thousands of individual traders profited from the GameStop rally during 2021. Subsequently, many looked for the next potential opportunity to make money. This was when a new group of BANG stocks came into the limelight and became more popular among retail traders than traditional stock analysts and cable news pundits.
List of BANG Stocks 2026
| Symbol | Name |
|---|---|
| BB | BlackBerry Ltd |
| AMC | AMC Entertainment |
| NOK | Nokia Corp |
| GME | GameStop Corp |
BlackBerry Ltd ($BB)
BANG stocks, including BlackBerry, have been highly volatile since WSB investors fueled the price. BlackBerry was once a top smartphone brand. However, it couldn’t maintain its leading position after the iPhone and several Android devices took over the global smartphone market.
Meanwhile, the company expanded its software and services business under the leadership of CEO John Chen, who wanted to strengthen its position in the enterprise security space. The efforts to establish itself as a leading software company have somewhat turned fruitful.
For instance, BlackBerry succeeded in introducing its QNX technology in vehicles. QNX, a real-time operating system, is now part of millions of smart cars worldwide. Some investors think that BlackBerry’s technology will be a critical part of autonomous cars in the future.
The company has already inked deals with several vehicle manufacturers to integrate QNX in their upcoming models. In short, things can dramatically change for BlackBerry in the coming years.
AMC Entertainment Holdings ($AMC)
The COVID-19 pandemic hurt movie theater chains. AMC Cinemas remained closed for most of 2020. Their stock lost more than 70 percent of its value that year.
AMC started 2021 at around $2. Its share price gradually improved during the first quarter as the company reopened its theaters with limited capacity.
Surprisingly, they gained massive value during the last week of May following a mention on the WSB forum. WSB members made the #SaveAMC hashtag viral on different social media websites.
AMC stock price went from $13.68 on May 24 to $62.55 on June 2, a more than 300 percent surge in less than ten days. Retail investors on WSB accumulated AMC shares in large quantities, forcing hedge funds to close their short positions. As a result, AMC stock gained massive value over the past couple of weeks. We will see what the future holds for them.
Nokia Corp ($NOK)
Finnish company Nokia started operating as a paper mill way back in 1865. The company has revamped itself several times over its decades-long journey. NOK stock also benefited from the retail trading frenzy that started in 2021.
However, the gains made by the company were relatively lower than those of the rest of the BANG stocks. Like BlackBerry, Nokia was also a leading cell phone maker. Their phones were indestructible. However, years of losses forced it to sell its handset business to Microsoft in 2014. Sadly, the world may never have durable phones like Nokia’s again. The company’s effort is now focused on strengthening its network business.
As a part of those efforts, Nokia acquired Alcatel-Lucent in 2016 to expand its telecommunication equipment services operations.
So far, Nokia has struggled to stay competitive in the 5G market due to its weaker 5G portfolio. Its financial results failed to impress investors last year.
The company blamed lower demand for its network equipment for the feeble performance. Nevertheless, Nokia has inked deals with companies such as T-Mobile and Google as a part of its broader strategy of becoming a leader in the 5G space. Moving forward, Nokia can return a good value to investors in the long run, but investors may need to be extremely patient.
Investing in the stock for a short-term gain is a riskier bet as more eyes and momentum are currently focused elsewhere.
GameStop Corp ($GME)
GameStop was the original stock to kick off the BANG stocks craze initiated by the WSB saga. It’s a leading videogame retailer operating primarily in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The company was losing money before the start of the pandemic. The global health crisis made things even worse. This was mainly due to store closures that many brick-and-mortar businesses suffered in 2020.
Melvin Capital and Citron Research were the two most famous funds to lose money. Citron Research is quite famous for publishing its short positions on Twitter.
Final Thoughts on BANG Stocks
Financial experts have warned individuals to avoid investing in stocks whose prices are artificially inflated. They believe it’s a highly risky approach. And people can lose their money by following the herd.
However, retail investors avoid such warnings and continue to make risky bets. The trend has given small investors the power to move markets. Some financial experts are even calling for regulatory changes following unrest in the stock market. It’s impossible to predict where BANG stocks will go from here. Please do not trade any of the securities on this BANG stocks list unless you know how to trade.
