History seems to be repeating itself. It was only a month ago that GameStop mania quite literally took over the world. WallStreetBets was getting coverage on all the major talk shows and primetime news in the US; it even made a splash on the news here in the UK and elsewhere. While this is highly unlikely to be repeated, there’s been some movement today. Enough that even Reddit was hit with issues as people surged in to check WallStreetBets.
The biggest gain for today is, unsurprisingly, GameStop (NYSE:GME). Shares of the retailer surged up over 100% to close at $91.71, with aftermarket trading currently having the price at an even higher $153 at the time of writing. The timing appears to be linked to yesterday’s announcement that the CFO, Jim Bell, will resign next month to help “accelerate GameStop’s transformation”.
As a result of the volatility of the stock, trading on GameStop was halted twice today. While far from reminiscent of the almost double-digit halts, the Robinhood fiasco, and the general chaos of the original push, this has come out of the blue, and a knock-on effect has been felt from the other meme stocks.
Keeping on GameStop. The company is not expected to reveal earnings around the 26th of March, which is the CFO’s resignation date. Where the shares will go between here and then, it’s impossible to know.
WallStreetBets and GameStop – The Knock-On Effect
One clear thing, GameStop is yet again the major talking point on r/WallStreetBets. What doesn’t seem to be discussed is that the environment that allowed the first spike to reach the level it did doesn’t seem to be there this time. The first time, the stock was shorted to an astronomical level, over 100% of traded shares, while on the 29th of January, this had fallen to 40%. Of course, the short interest could have increased since then as hedge funds were willing to bet on the company at $10, they’re likely going to be willing to bet against it at the $45 it was sitting at.
GameStop, of course, isn’t in a bubble. In the original rush, certain meme stocks were pulled up alongside the retailer. These have also seen an increase today, though far from the same level as GameStop. Such companies include Bed Bath & Beyond, AMC, BlackBerry and Naked Brand.
AMC (NYSE:AMC), for example, saw an increase of 18% during the day, finishing at $9.09, with current aftermarket trading placing it at $10.49. AMC is expected to release earnings tomorrow, predicting large losses, though buoyed by the vaccine rollout and planned easing and removal of restrictions across the world. BlackBerry (NYSE:BB), another of the meme stocks, also saw an increase of just under 9% during the day, finishing at $11.32. At the time of writing, aftermarket trading places it at $12.18.
Will this be the second round of retail investors vs hedge funds, or is this a flash in the pan? Only time will tell. One thing is certain; I’ll be keeping my eyes on this.
The post Wallstreetbets Back? GameStop and More Surge, Reddit Crashes by Chris Wray appeared first on Wccftech.
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