Shares of Carver Bancorp and Urban One, two companies that serve black and underrepresented communities, more than doubled Wednesday, reflecting increased investor interest in supporting black-owned businesses amid global protests against police brutality.
Carver's stock jumped by as much as 853%, the most on record, on volume more than 100 times the three-month daily average. Urban One's Class D shares climbed 150% intraday, catching up a bit with a rally in the Class A shares earlier this week. The moves come as calls to "Buy Black" have circulated on social media, pointing consumers to black-owned businesses as a step toward correcting economic inequalities.
The stocks have also seen increased interest from retail investors. Urban One's Class A and Class D shares were the two stocks with the biggest increases in popularity in Robinhood accounts over the past 24 hours, according to Robintrack.net, an online monitoring service. Carver also saw a huge jump in trading activity on Robinhood in early June.
"Buying Black" and similar phrases such as "buying back the block" are garnering mainstream attention after protests across the U.S. against police brutality toward black people. The trend has evolved from long-standing traditions in black communities to lift up and invest in their own people.
