Dave Portnoy On Day Trading: 'I Can't Be Held Responsible For Total Idiots'

Dave Portnoy spurred a new generation of retail traders, but the Barstool Sports founder said Monday on CNBC's "Fast Money" he can't be responsible for the actions of others.

'Barstooling It': The rise in retail trading activity is in part due to Portnoy branding himself as "Davey Day Trader." His newfound popularity in the trading universe is merely a function of "doing something the financial community hasn't seen before and making it fun," Portnoy said.

"We are 'Barstooling' it, we are making hype videos, we are getting behind it, we are live-streaming it," he said. "And I think a lot of the old-time guys just don't know what the hell is going on with us so they don't know what to make of us."

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'Clear What We Are': Portnoy makes it "clear what we are" and admits he has no "great knowledge" of stocks. If retail investors follow his actions and potentially lose money on a rare penny stock mention, he "can't be held responsible for total idiots."

Portnoy has made some profitable trades among well-known brands, including personally buying and recommending Spirit Airlines Incorporated SAVE near $8 per share. Anyone who took his advice is sitting on a hefty profit with the stock trading north of $20. The stock needs to "crash significantly for about a week straight" to erase all of the gains.

"People have to make decisions for themselves, obviously," he said. "If you want to jump on, you jump on. The facts are I'm not going to feel bad when I have like 400% returns since I started doing this."

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The Buffett Call: Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has been buying and selling stocks for decades, but Portnoy has no ambition to follow suit. He said once the COVID-19 pandemic is over, he needs to return to his "pretty busy job" at Barstool Sports.

In the meantime, Portnoy said it's factually correct to say he 's outperforming Buffett after loading up on airliner stocks near the bottom: "because I am."

Buffett is also pushing 90 years old so even claiming he is past his prime shouldn't be seen as an insult, Portnoy said.

"I have said all along, he is the greatest investor of all time," he said. "But right now, in this market, I'm doing better."

Top Stock Pick: Davey Day Trader's top pick in this current environment: Smith & Wesson Brands Inc SWBI.
Photo screenshot via CNBC.