Meme-style trading sent Kohl’s stock up as much as 100% on Tuesday. Here’s why investors should pull out of KSS shares today.

Huge interest in the Menomonee Falls-based retailer's stock drove so many trades July 22 that trading was briefly suspended. The rally came after online forums talked up shares in the retailer, which has suffered from sales slumps and corporate leadership turnover.

Kohl’s was still up 38% in single-day trading not driven by underlying fundamentals. In fact, it fired its third CEO in three years just two months ago.

Retail investors are once again banding together to bet on highly shorted loss-making companies such as Kohl's and Krispy Kreme this week, bringing to mind the "meme stock" frenzy that gripped Wall Street four years ago.

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

Financial markets once again have been seized by meme-stock mania. In mid-July, a frenzied rally erupted around a cohort of beaten-down companies, including Opendoor Technologies Inc., Kohl’s Corp. and Krispy Kreme Inc.