Phunware stock was up 1,000% on Friday. What the heck is Phunware?

That’s not excessively shabby for a comparatively tiny Austin, Texas-based tech outfit specializing successful advertizing bundle via mobile applications and determination tracking that, according to its ain financials, realized a nett nonaccomplishment of $8.3 cardinal successful the 2nd 4th of 2021 connected nett gross of $1.4 million.

Phunware, founded successful 2009, went nationalist via a SPAC successful December 2018 and came to immoderate prominence successful 2019 for its enactment with the Trump/Pence reelection campaign. Phunware reportedly received a $3 cardinal declaration from Trump’s erstwhile run manager Brad Parscale and its banal went from $10 a stock successful December 2018 to much than $300 a stock by Feb 1, 2019.

By April 2019, shares were backmost trading for little than $6 though.

One twelvemonth later, the institution was slapped with a delisting informing from NASDAQ aft its banal had traded beneath $1 for 30 consecutive days. That aforesaid month, it was revealed that Phunware had applied for and received $2,850,336 successful Paycheck Protection Program loans from JP Morgan Chase, contempt being a publically traded company.

Phunware’s COO Randall Crowder defended the PPP indebtedness astatine the clip by telling a section Texas quality channel that the institution was successful excessively dire a concern not to instrumentality the money.

“Phunware is an 11-year-old exertion institution with a marketplace headdress determination astir $25 million, with 56 employees. We’ve been unprofitable for the past 11 years,” Crowder explained astatine the time. “Banks aren’t loaning to unprofitable tech companies. There is nary entree to capital.” 

Phunware managed to get its stock terms backmost supra a dollar successful owed clip to appease its exchange, but the banal has languished since and was trading astatine $0.90 a stock arsenic precocious arsenic October 8.

But acknowledgment to retail investors caught up successful what appears to beryllium MAGA mememania, Phunware’s anterior narration with Trump done his fired adjutant Parscale makes it a imaginable concern play for everyone looking to capitalize connected the madcap froth astir Trump’s announced woody with SPAC outfit Digital World Acquisition Corp. DWAC, +107.58%. The erstwhile president’s nascent Trump Media & Technology Group went nationalist done its ain reverse merger this week.

On 1 subreddit, users egged each different connected to support buying PHUN shares and reminding the radical of 2019’s monolithic terms rise.

“This banal ran to $500 per successful 2019,” blared the header of 1 post. “With that being said we each cognize adjacent higher is imaginable now.”

Commenters connected that station agreed with the sentiment, with galore users annoyed that the banal was uncovering absorption astatine $20 portion a noticeably larger contingent made it wide they were selling their shares successful cannabis grower Sundial Growers SNDL, -4.62% to determination their wealth into PHUN.

On Twitter, users backing PHUN had “phun” with the ticker awesome and predicted that the banal would rocket up further, cementing their claims with pro-Trump memes.

While Phunware’s large aboriginal gains had been pared backmost to ‘only’ a 600% summation astatine midday Friday, retail involvement successful DWAC remained fervid with the banal soaring different 140% astatine midday, bringing its not-even two-day terms maturation to much than 900%.