The Latest Barron's Picks And Pans: Meme Stocks, AstraZeneca, Citigroup And More

• The cover story in this weekend's Barron's reveals what investors should know now about the so-called meme stocks.
• Other featured articles discuss how to find bargains in Chinese stocks, the increasing likelihood of big tech regulation and how travel and leisure stocks have fared lately.
• Also, see the prospects for a boat maker, a vaccine maker, a leading money center bank and more.

Cover story "The Meme Stock Trade Is Far From Over. What Investors Need to Know" by Avi Salzman points out that, half a year later, a boom in retail day trading is keeping stocks like GameStop Corp. GME at lofty levels. See what Barron's has to say about how Wall Street is struggling over how to respond to this trend.

In "Analysts Are Throwing in the Towel on Meme Stocks Like AMC," Connor Smith discusses how researchers are scratching their heads over how to do their job covering volatile stocks, including AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc AMC, that are powered by Reddit comments, short-seller interest and options trading.

Reshma Kapadia's "Where to Look for Bargains With Chinese Stocks" makes a case that investing in China is even trickier than usual these days, leading some investors to wonder if it's even worth the trouble. Find out whether Barron's believes JD.Com Inc JD or Yum China Holdings Inc YUMC are worth a look now.

Malibu Boats Inc MBUU has strong brands and nifty technologies to sustain growth even if boating cools off a bit. So says "Boat Sales May Be Cresting. This Stock Looks Ready to Power Through" by Daren Fonda. And shares of this Tennessee-based powerboat maker are hardly pricy, according to the article.

In Carleton English's "Banks Are About to Kick Off Earnings Season. Keep an Eye on Citigroup," discover why Barron's thinks that though banks have proven they have a solid foundation, the next leg of their growth is more uncertain. Check out the article to see what you need to know about the industry and Citigroup Inc C in particular.

"Washington Has a Trillion Reasons to Regulate Big Tech" by Alex Eule wonders, now that Facebook, Inc. FB has reached a trillion-dollar market value, joining the rest of Big Tech in the exclusive club, which company will be next. These big valuations are hitting up against the increased likelihood of regulation, says Barron's.

See also: Benzinga's Bulls And Bears Of The Week: Apple, Coca-Cola, GM, Moderna, Tesla And More

AstraZeneca plc AZN not only has a COVID-19 vaccine, but the multinational pharmaceutical giant is also a specialist in cancer treatments, according to Lina Saigol's "Vaccine Maker AstraZeneca's Drug Pipeline Could Boost the Stock. And the company supplies medicine for a host of other diseases as well.

In "For Travel and Leisure Stocks, This Summer Has Been No Vacation. Here's Why," Lawrence C. Strauss discusses how, after running up amid vaccine and reopening hopes, shares in companies from cruise operators such as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd RCL to hotels like MGM Resorts International MGM have all moved sideways or lower since February.

Lawrence C. Strauss's "Why This Value Manager Thinks Facebook and Citi Stock Are Deals" claims that the featured fund manager is not a traditional deep-value investor focused exclusively on dirt-cheap companies. His $17 billion fund holds FAANG stocks Alphabet Inc GOOGL and Netflix Inc NFLX, which are hardly typical value names.

Also in this week's Barron's:

• A Fed chief on why the Federal Reserve should slowly back off
• How the FDA being under fire affects investors
• A review of U.S.-China relations over the past century
• Whether the behavior of bonds presages a weaker second-half economy
• The next tech trend worth paying attention to
• How an infrastructure spending bust could boost markets
• Unleashed innovation and the future of national security
• How to play the rally in sugar prices
• What to know about the first passenger flight to space
• Changing the order of retirement account drawdowns to save on taxes
• Whether to worry about China cutting reserve requirements for its banks