What happened
Shares of mobile-gaming platform Skillz (SKLZ -0.80%) were trading modestly higher for most of Tuesday's session. But around 1:30 p.m. EDT, the stock suddenly spiked higher, seemingly out of nowhere. As of this writing, the stock is up 12%. After a little digging, it seems that some chatter on social news platform Reddit could be responsible for the jump.
So what
A Reddit user posted that they had purchased $4.8 million in Skillz stock. Normally, I'd be reluctant to mention something like this. But there's no other news from Skillz today. Moreover, the time of the Reddit post roughly corresponds to the jump in Skillz stock. Therefore, this possibility can't be dismissed.
Image source: Getty Images.
To be clear, one Reddit user likely can't move Skillz stock this much on their own. But as we've seen with other stocks in 2021, a strong vote of confidence on Reddit can inspire many other investors to also purchase shares. And this combined effort can cause a stock to make moves.
Now what
Wondering if you should join the new wave of Skillz investors? I'll leave you with two thoughts. First, I wouldn't recommend ever buying or selling a stock based solely on what someone else is doing. At a minimum, you should know what the company does, and you should have a basic understanding of how its business model can create shareholder value over time.
Second, remember that not everyone is playing the same game when it comes to the stock market. Someone might make a multimillion-dollar bet, but you don't know their personal financial situation or how long they plan to hold. When it comes to my approach, I'm interested in building a diversified portfolio of stocks that I hold for many years. This strategy allows me to take advantage of the stock market's upward bias over time and also compensates for my own fallibility. This is the game I think other investors should be playing too.
For the record, I'm a satisfied Skillz shareholder, and I believe it's a company you should get to know. That said, I'd suggest investors not make rash buying decisions based on social media hype. If Skillz is a great long-term opportunity, it will still be there after you've done some research.
