Wendy's Surges for Two Consecutive Days as Reddit Retail Traders Spark Meme Stock Frenzy
Alina Collins
Wendy's has rallied nearly 40% over two trading sessions — not on earnings, but on a Reddit-driven retail buying frenzy that one analyst called "the Reddit crowd hijacking the stock."
What just happened in two days?
Wendy's (WEN) jumped 25.7% on Wednesday — its biggest single-day gain since June 2021 — then added another ~12% in Thursday's pre-market.
The rally has little connection to company fundamentals. It is driven almost entirely by retail sentiment on social media.
This means → the stock is moving on forum buzz, not on anything in the business itself.
What set it off?
The immediate trigger was Wednesday's announcement that Wendy's hired former Potbelly executive Steven Cirulis as CFO and chief strategy officer.
But the narrative on Reddit quickly shifted from the hire to a "Save Wendy's" campaign — multiple posts cited years of share-price underperformance and called on retail traders to pile in.
In plain terms = the executive change was the spark, but the real fuel was collective emotion on the forum.
What are Reddit traders actually doing?
One user posted a screenshot of a roughly $350,000 Wendy's position titled "$WEN to the moon — 350K all in," drawing hundreds of comments and upvotes.
Another post mocked buying "only a meal's worth of stock" as a rookie move. According to Swaggy Stocks, Wendy's has become one of the most-discussed tickers on Reddit trading forums.
This reflects a replay of the 2021 GameStop-style retail pile-in — the WallStreetBets crowd is back in action.
What do analysts say?
Gordon Haskett event-driven research head Don Bilson called this flatly: "the Reddit crowd hijacking the stock."
He cited the GameStop precedent, noting that WallStreetBets retail traders have "mobilized again," this time targeting the Columbus, Ohio-based fast-food chain.
This means → the institutional read is that this rally is speculative meme-stock activity, not a fundamental re-rating of the company.
Can this rally last?
Wendy's had been a heavily shorted stock — meaning many traders were betting its price would fall.
The core variable now is short-squeeze pressure — concentrated retail buying that forces short sellers to cover, pushing the price even higher.
In plain terms = if shorts are forced to close out, the stock could keep climbing; but once retail enthusiasm fades, a rally with no fundamental support can unwind fast.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.