MicroStrategy Attracts $11 Million from Retail Investors Following Nasdaq-100 Inclusion

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MicroStrategy Attracts $11 Million from Retail Investors Following Nasdaq-100 Inclusion

Investing.com -- Following MicroStrategy's inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 index, retail investors invested approximately $11 million into the company's shares on Monday. This figure nearly tripled the average daily inflows for the year.

Data compiled by Vanda Research on Tuesday showed the increasing popularity of bitcoin bulls among individual investors. MicroStrategy's stock delivered nearly a 550% return, surpassing Wall Street favorite Nvidia's approximately 160% increase in 2024.

Promoted as a financial instrument independent of government intermediaries, bitcoin has generally garnered a loyal following among its corporate advocates. MicroStrategy's co-founder and chairman, Michael Saylor, is known for sharing his positive views on cryptocurrency with millions of followers on X.

MicroStrategy also benefited from the significant rally in bitcoin that surpassed the $100,000 mark for the first time earlier this month. This milestone was achieved partly due to the crypto-friendly stance of U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Investment analyst Dan Coatsworth from AJ Bell remarked, "Most people have no idea what MicroStrategy does in its daily operations, but the company has become the poster child of the stock market for playing with bitcoin prices."

While MicroStrategy's main business is focused on purchasing bitcoin, the company also sells business analytics software. In the third quarter, revenue from the software business fell by 10%.

According to analytics firm Ortex, the short interest ratio in the stock significantly decreased from 20.7% at the beginning of 2024 to 12.98% of the free-floating shares as of December 16. Short sellers, who profit when an asset's price declines, typically close their positions to limit losses when trades turn against them, which can further drive up prices.

Vanda's data, which does not include transactions made through private banking or savings plans like 401(k)s, indicates that MicroStrategy has seen an average daily retail inflow of $3.75 million since the beginning of the year.