Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to fix the dates in the first paragraph.

Retail investors talked up five hot stocks during the week (Oct. 12 to Oct. 16) on X and Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets, driven by retail hype, earnings, AI infrastructure momentum, and corporate news flow.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU), CoreWeave Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV), Rocket Lab Corp. (NASDAQ:RKLB), and GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME), spanning the electric vehicles/clean energy, semiconductor memory, digital infrastructure/AI cloud computing, aerospace/space technology, and specialty retail/gaming sectors, reflected strong retail interest.

Tesla

• TSLA was in focus this week on robotaxi scrutiny, analyst commentary, and the long-awaited Roadster reveal. On Oct. 12, the NHTSA opened a petition review into allegations that Tesla robotaxis exceeded speed limits in active school zones, while Jefferies maintained a Hold rating and raised its price target to $400. On Oct. 13, Goldman Sachs said Tesla’s robotaxi and Optimus outlook may matter more than its upcoming third-quarter earnings. The biggest catalyst came Oct. 15-16, when Tesla unveiled a redesigned Roadster using SpaceX technology, with three configurations including a “Rocket” version described as capable of flight, sending shares higher in premarket trading.

• After its poor stock performance over the year, some retail traders said they were skeptical about TSLA’s Roadster reveal lifting the stock.

• The stock has traded in the range of $297.38 to $498.83 since listing, trading around $361 to $375 per share, as of the publication of this article. It declined by 16.71% over the last year and 7.53% over the last six months. The stock was down 19.41% year-to-date.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings showed that TSLA had a strong price trend in the short and medium terms, but a weak trend in the long term, with a poor value score.

Micron Technology

• MU was in focus this week as investors weighed strong memory demand against rising China competition and a sharp sector selloff. Reports said China’s CXMT made progress on a proprietary memory-chip transistor structure also being pursued by Samsung and SK Hynix Inc. (NASDAQ:SKHY), raising competitive concerns, while Rosenblatt maintained a Buy rating with a $1,900 target. On Oct. 14, Micron sold off on China-related fears, though Jim Cramer called the reaction “nonsense.” On Oct. 15, Benzinga highlighted Micron’s roughly $150 billion contract book and Elon Musk’s praise of its pricing strategy, but MU, SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ:SNDK) and SK Hynix were hit by a broader memory-chip rout that erased about $1 trillion in market value across the group.

• Several retail investors were questioning MU’s decline this week.

• The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $192.40 to $1,255.00, trading around $909 to $932 per share, as of the publication of this article. It advanced by 385.17% over the last year and 104.12% over the last six months. The stock was up 226.28% year-to-date.

• According to Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, MU was maintaining a strong price trend over the long term but a weak trend in the short and medium terms, with a good quality score.

CoreWeave

• CRWV was in focus this week as investors grew increasingly concerned about the debt supporting its AI infrastructure buildout. On Oct. 15, CoreWeave shares came under heavy pressure as its bonds reportedly traded at yields near 15%, while Mizuho maintained a Neutral rating and cut its price target to $88. Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang said CoreWeave was improving and did not need a financial backstop, which helped shares rebound later in the session. Bank of America remained more constructive, maintaining a $140 price target and arguing the selloff overstated the risks. By Oct. 16, debt fears were still the dominant story, with analysts debating whether CoreWeave’s leveraged growth model can support continued AI capacity expansion.

• Despite its fall, some retail investors were bullish on CRWV.

• The stock had a 52-week range of $59.51 to $141.79, trading around $65 to $70 per share, as of the publication of this article. It fell by 49.95% over the year and 41.28% in the last six months. The stock was down 2.68% YTD.

• CRWV maintains a weak price trend over the long, medium, and short terms, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings.

Rocket Lab

• RKLB was in focus this week after the company said on Oct. 14 that the first launch of its Neutron rocket is now expected in 2027, another delay that sent shares sharply lower the next day. Despite the setback, Benzinga noted Rocket Lab still has a roughly $2.4 billion backlog. Analysts largely stayed constructive: TD Cowen reiterated Buy with a $90 target, Cantor Fitzgerald kept Overweight with a $122 target, and KeyBanc maintained Overweight but cut its target to $100.

• Some retail investors were very bullish on RKLB, making a case for investing in the stock.

• The stock had a 52-week range of $37.57 to $151.00, trading around $54 to $56 per share, as of the publication of this article. It fell by 20.24% over the year, 24.93% over the last six months, and is down 20.80% YTD.

• According to Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, RKLB was maintaining a weak price trend over the short, long, and medium terms.

GameStop

• GME was in focus this week as CEO Ryan Cohen continued aggressively buying shares, helping push the stock to fresh 52-week highs. On Oct. 13, Cohen disclosed purchases of 777,000 shares at $27 each and 67,130 shares at $26.75, bringing his holdings to about 42.5 million shares. The buying spree remained the main catalyst through Oct. 14-15, fueling further retail interest and strength in leveraged GME-linked products. Cohen also drew attention for saying his original GameStop investment had been a “mistake” but that he was prepared to “go down with the ship,” while later commenting on AI and the possibility of conflict between humans and smarter robots.

• Some retail investors were bullish on GME’s price performance this week.

• The stock has traded in the 52-week range of $17.79 to $28.30, trading around $26 to $29 per share, as of the publication of this article. It rose by 19.85% over the year, 13.03% over the last six months, and is up 39.54% YTD.

• According to Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, GME was maintaining a strong price trend over the long, short, and medium terms, with a moderate value.

Retail focus comprised AI infrastructure momentum, earnings, and corporate news-driven narratives, with broader market action during the week.

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