A bullish thesis posted by a day trader online sparked a sudden surge in Beyond Meat last week.
The surge quickly gained steam, with retail pushing the stock up 1,300% in four days.
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Dimitri Semenikhin won’t be donning a red headband anytime soon.
He may have helped engineer the most furious meme-stock rally of the year, but he really doesn’t see himself as akin to the architect of the GameStop surge five years ago.
Semenikhin, 29, goes by Capyabara Stocks on social media. He rose to prominence this week as the trader whose convincing thesis about why Beyond Meat stock was undervalued kicked off a 1,300% run for the shares of the faux meat maker. In Capybara Stocks, the retail community hoped for the second coming of Roaring Kitty, even if Semenikhin resists the comparison.
So, who is the newest stock market influencer?
Anyone who has read Semenikhin’s thesis that sparked the Beyond Meat stock rally can probably tell, at the very least, that he’s comfortable speaking the language of markets.
His case for why the stock is undervalued homed in on a fairly complex dynamic of a convertible note exchange completed by Beyond Meat recently, an event that he argued was misunderstood by investors.
Speaking with Semenikhin, it’s clear that he finds the events of the past week surreal.
“I never expected the amount of attention and following and interest that this investment would drive,” he said.
A native of Moscow, he moved to Monaco with his parents when he was young, before ultimately relocating to London for school. He earned a degree in mathematics from King’s College London before entering a joint graduate program between the London Business School and the University of Cambridge.
However, he did not graduate, opting to drop out and work on a luxury travel startup called Yacht Harbour, which he launched in 2014. While he is currently CEO of Stroyteks Group, the real estate development firm founded by his family, Semenikhin still finds time to study the markets.
He credits his somewhat unconventional background with sparking his interest in investing, noting that it’s helped him think about complex financial topics.
“A lot of my time was spent in startups, and after that, real estate,” he said. “It forces you to look at investment deals from both sides, as an investor and as an operator.”
As Beyond Meat stock surged, many retail traders flocked to Semenikhin’s social media channels for updates and advice. He’s made several videos explaining his thesis and adjusting price targets.
