If you’re looking for penny stocks to buy right now, I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of attention placed on social media, namely Reddit. The phenomenon that began earlier in the year thanks to GameStop (NYSE: GME) stock has caused an avalanche of trading activity spilling over into other heavily shorted names. Whether you’re talking about beaten-down meat alternative stocks like Beyond Meat (NASDAQ: BYND) or bankrupt car rental companies like Hertz (OTC: HTZGQ), Redditors are going against the grain and focusing on the “anti-trade” in the market.

This week AMC Theatres (NYSE: AMC) took the leading role among meme stocks. It’s hard to believe that earlier this year, shares were trading around $2 a share. The first big Reddit-fueled move took the broken-down theatre stock to highs of $20.36 before taking an abrupt turn during the weeks to follow. As I’m sure many have already seen, that meme stock has not only managed to recover but surge to new, all-time highs this week. Was there some major development that fundamentally changed the make-up of the company? No, but Redditors have certainly gotten behind AMC stock in a big way.

Hedge funds have long been seen as groups that have “controlled” markets for far too long. That’s the general thought process resonating from retail traders using Reddit and Twitter for their soapboxes. As we approach the mid-point of 2021, a new chapter is being written. It’s no longer a hunt for heavily shorted stocks alone. These same groups of retail traders are finding that the “mob mentality” can dramatically influence markets. Enter penny stocks. Subreddits like r/PennyStocks are gaining thousands of followers per day, looking for the next round of top penny stocks to buy.