I have mixed opinions on it because I think spec players are very sly. Most hedge funds and major players have a spec fund. I was taught to have 25% of my cash in spec plays. (I violated that with KRY)

A professional trading company will reduce spec plays when the market goes down and then when a reversal happens they prefer the safer gains of riding the big stocks back up.

A lot of spec plays suffer greater in economic down turns but if the catalyst remains there will always be people in play.

IMHO the market has made great gains since spring when we were what 6500 on the DOW? Now the market seems to be leveling out in anticipation of a pull back or the next leg up.

To answer your question I think that a lot of instutions who specialized in spec plays are gone, but I do think that there is a re-entry into the speculative market as the dow levels off. It won't be as aggressive but it is still there.