Aug 19 (Portal) – Retail favorites GameStop and AMC Entertainment fell on Friday, erasing much of their recent gains, after billionaire Ryan Cohen divested his stake in struggling retailer Bed Bath & Beyond days after taking a bullish option position in the stock abruptly pushed off.
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (BBBY.O) shares continued their slide, falling 42% to $10.80 after Cohen said a day earlier he had sold his 9.8% stake in the company, nearly five months after accumulating it and pushing for changes. Continue reading
The stake sale could net Cohen between $55 million and $60 million, according to a review of Portal’ regulatory filings. Continue reading
Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond shot up to $30 earlier this week after Cohen bought some call options on Tuesday, and rose from $4.38 in July in a frenzied trade that revived memories of the early meme stock rally 2021 wake up call.
If the losses continue, the stock will swallow its 43% weekly gains.
“Had he not sold this stock seemed to have real potential as a GME 2.0. Unfortunately, Ryan’s sale destroyed any momentum,” said a retailer who had invested in Bed Bath & Beyond when the stock was at $6.
Cohen owns about 12% of GameStop Corp (GME.N), which skyrocketed 1,600% at the height of the retail frenzy in January 2020, and is the largest shareholder.
GameStop and AMC Entertainment (AMC.N) lost between 4% and 6%. E-commerce company Vinco Ventures (BBIG.O) plunged 17%.
Despite Friday’s losses, shares are up 3% to 55% this month.
“This recent roller coaster ride is unlikely to wipe out the meme stock trend,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, adding that the urge to ride the wave of speculation has been gaining ground, as Wall Street rallied in recent weeks.
Reporting by Anisha Sircar, Susan Mathew and Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing of Shinjini Ganguli
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