Why do retail investors often lose everything in popular themes? A typical phenomenon is worth observing.

A certain pharmaceutical concept stock suddenly surged in volume starting December 22, with daily trading volume reaching around 1.5 billion. The surge in volume indicates that new funds are pouring in, allowing retail investors to participate. But this is precisely the problem—before that, the stock had already risen for three consecutive days, but trading was very quiet at the time, and almost no one dared to act.

The critical turning point occurred on December 22: retail investors flocked in, only to find that the best meat had already been eaten. Although there was a rebound afterward, in less than a month, the stock price has fallen back to the level of the 22nd. It completed a full circle and returned to the starting point, which for participants is a negative-sum game.

Looking at the trend, it becomes clear: although the gains after the 22nd were limited, the trading volume was huge, indicating that a large number of retail investors completed their "catching the bag" at high levels. Meanwhile, early investors had already gradually exited during the upward trend. After the price surged, it experienced consecutive limit-downs, and at this point, no one dared to buy, with volume shrinking and the price falling straight down. Almost all the funds that entered on December 22nd were trapped, and by the time they could unload, they had already lost more than 30%.

This is not an isolated case. Most hot topics follow this pattern: by the time retail investors see the opportunity, the price increase has often already been significant. At this point, entering again is essentially betting on the next person to take over the position.