Opendoor Technologies (OPEN 3.58%) experienced a hot run during mid- to late 2025. Shares in the real estate iBuyer zoomed from just over $0.50 per share to prices nearing $11 per share. However, in the more than six months since hitting this multi-year high, the stock has fallen by around 50%.
Following this steady pullback, you may be wondering whether the stock has a shot at another incredible run. Unfortunately, what's missing this time is the key factor behind Opendoor's last gain in price.
NASDAQ: OPEN
Key Data Points
Moreover, given current market dynamics and the company's underlying near-term prospects, this housing stock may struggle to stay steady, much less surge to higher price levels.
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Opendoor and the root cause of its mid-2025 rally
During Opendoor's mid-2025 super rally, the company announced several developments. For instance, shares peaked in mid-September, around the same time Keith Rabois and Eric Wu, both Opendoor co-founders, rejoined the company's board. Opendoor also appointed Kaz Nejatian, formerly Shopify's COO, as its CEO at that time.
Yet while the rally peaked just as it appeared Opendoor was solidifying its turnaround, it's important to note that it was something far different than the specter of turnaround that sparked the stock's mega rally in the first place.
Instead, it was meme-stock enthusiasm among retail investors that sparked a renewed wave of interest in July 2025. Inspired by bullish social media posts, these investors aggressively bid up Opendoor. However, many of these same investors "sold the news" of Opendoor's C-suite and board shake-up, kicking off the stock's extended pulling back to prior price levels.
Opendoor may remain one of the most-followed stocks, but meme-stock status is no longer having much of an effect on price action. In fact, the whole meme-stock investing approach has seemingly fallen off the radar.
Don't count on renewed meme action to save the day
So far in 2026, we haven't had a repeat of meme action in speculative stocks, as seen in prior years. Moreover, the effect of this investing approach hasn't been nearly as strong in subsequent years as it was in 2021. That's when the phenomenon first took shape, sending names like AMC Entertainment and GameStop "to the moon."
With the limited potential for another meme wave, the next Opendoor rally will likely hinge on improved fundamentals. However, even this alternative driver is subject to significant uncertainty. On one hand, the U.S. housing market remains sluggish amid high interest rates, low inventory, and affordability issues. This severely challenges Opendoor's business model of buying up houses, fixing them up, and quickly reselling them for profit.
On the other hand, with Nejatian at the helm, the company has tweaked its business model and begun implementing artificial intelligence (AI) to raise margins. With this, it may be possible for Opendoor to hit its goal of breakeven profitability later this year.
That said, don't forget how last fall's warrants issuance could limit the stock's long term price appreciation potential. As there are far more compelling growth stocks out there -- eVTOL and rare-earth metal stocks, for instance -- it's best to forget the memes and seek opportunity elsewhere.
