A famous YouTuber is the meme-stock crowd's latest hero.
Popular content creator and independent film producer Markiplier (real name Mark Fischbach) has become the biggest shareholder in camera maker GoPro, with a 8.5% stake worth roughly $20 million after a two-day rally. The announcement quickly sent the penny stock surging on Monday, with gains extending on Tuesday.
Since Friday's close, that stock is up 173%, hitting an intraday high on Tuesday of $1.64.
"I saw the stock and where it was, I was like 'that seems undervalued,'" Fischbach said in an interview with Bloomberg. "It's just something I've been cooking in the background; I want the company to succeed."
The company's cameras are beloved by content creators, but that hasn't helped the stock, which has fallen about 90% over the past five years, making it a popular target for short-sellers. Yet, retail traders are now rushing to scoop up shares following the news of Markiplier's stake.
"The momentum came from a guy with 37 million subscribers who actually uses the product and put real money behind it, not just some tweet," said one user on Reddit's r/Valueinvesting forum.
"I picked up a handful of shares this morning b/c of the news," added another. "I by no means think GoPro is 'going to the moon'. Or even going to reach its highest heights. But I feel if they can rock steady share price of $10-$11. I feel that would be a healthy and sustainable place to be in."
Also driving interest in the stock on Tuesday was news that the company will merge with Starman Optical, a photonics equipment maker that GoPro says will position it to expand into hot areas like data centers and defense tech.
Hunter Weiss, a content creator with a focus on AI and defense, pointed to the stock's move and the merger on Tuesday, cheering on the rally to his 29,000 X followers.
"This can meme," he wrote. "It's globally known stock and brand to get behind. Decent short interest."
Markiplier's massive bet on the stock is reminiscent of other meme moments recently that have turned penny stocks into retail darlings, even if just briefly. A similar scenario played out when a Dubai-based trader named Dimitri Semenikhin amassed a major stake in Beyond Meat, helping shares surge from multi-year lows.
However, Semenikhin wrote on Tuesday that he wasn't buying the GoPro rally.
"Fundamentals though don't support any of this," he wrote on X. "This is a company with very little cash, heavy ongoing losses and high debt at the moment although sales still persist."
