By now most people, even those vaguely tuned into finances, have heard the phrase "meme stock." But if you're just catching up, here are some basics.

Meme-stock mania might be back, but old heads may have noticed that the moves this time around are lacking a certain explosiveness.

Like most sequels, “Meme Stock Mania Part II” can’t quite replicate the magic of the original. But for a couple of days, it looked like we were on the brink of a repeat of that early-2021 fervor, when an army of regular-Joe day-traders banded together online to get rich quick while waging financial war on the supposedly more sophisticated suits on Wall Street.

Retail investors have begun to pile into speculative bets on small-cap companies in a buildup that resembles the meme stock frenzy of 2021.

The latest meme-stock frenzy shows that “market psychology and crowd behavior can sometimes matter more than the numbers,” says Capital.com analyst Daniela Sabin Hathorn

Social media buzzed with excitement on Monday as some beaten-down stocks that retail traders have been buying began to soar. Kohl's, Opendoor Technologies, Krispy Kreme and Rocket Cos. were among the names that posted outsized swings throughout the week.